


That's Stark's Boy

by Flatbottomholland



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Minor Character(s), Original Character(s), Tony Stark Has A Heart, tony stark has a son
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-10
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-06-24 15:16:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 46,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15633324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flatbottomholland/pseuds/Flatbottomholland
Summary: After getting kicked out of school and following the wrong crowd your mother sends you to live with your father - at least you’re away from her layabout boyfriend. But your dad happens to be Tony Stark, he enrolled you in a new school and enlisted the help of his faithful protege to help you feel welcome. Not only are you the new kid but you gotta balance the Stark Expectations AND you’re living with a bunch of heroes… also, lest you forget that a certain red-suited hero makes it difficult to keep your sexuality a secret.





	1. Chapter One

“Kicked out of school, that’s just great.” Your mother yelled across from you, running a hand through her hair as she sighed. “I don’t understand this sudden act of rebellion from you. First, you skip classes, then you don’t show up and getting into fights? What’s going on Y/N?” Her voice was soft, yet demanding.

You sat silently as you had been since leaving the principal’s office, arms crossed as you sat at the kitchen table. Refusing to meet her eyes, biting your bottom lip nervously just wanting this conversation to be over with. You had no explanation for her, well, you did but you just didn’t want to tell her or anyone. You glanced up, eyes following your mothers figure as she paces back and forth in front of you.

The front door opens to the small apartment and closes, heavy boots being kicked off in the entrance hall. Your eyes lock with your mothers, you silently shake your head but she sighs gently- pityingly. You can smell him before he even walks into the kitchen; alcohol and cigarettes, honestly, he wears it as a cologne at this point. Your mother’s boyfriend, Oliver, hates you. You’re unsure if the hatred slowly blossomed or if he had always hated you, but he really hates you. He eyes you for a split second before greeting your mother with a sloppy kiss, already talking about the day he’s had at “finding jobs”, you almost chuckled at the lie but thought better of it.

“Y/N got kicked out of school today,” Your mother informs him, his eyes snap to her and then to you. She shoots you a glare back, betrayal is all you feel. “Got into another fight, only this time the other boy is in the hospital.” You huffed, looking down to the floor, already knowing you’re going to get yelled at by him too.

Oliver sighs loudly, eyeing you up. “What is it with you and giving your mother a hard time? Don’t you think she has enough stress, what with your younger brothers -”

“And you go out drinking every day and coming back lying about it? Yeah, I think she’s under a lot of stress. Also, they are half-brothers, if I’m correct no child here has the same dad.” You talk before you even know you’re talking, already regretting it because the glares you receive from both of them.

“That’s the last straw, you’ve given me no choice.” You rolled your eyes, raising an eyebrow in question to her. “I’m sending you to live with your father, he’s already agreed and a car is picking you up tomorrow.” Tears welling in her eyes, your own widen and you see Oliver smirk out of the corner of your eye. “No school in this area will have you, they know of your reputation, Y/N Stark, he’s bad news.”

You open and close your mouth, heart thumping loudly in your chest as you look at her. The gut-wrenching feeling is in the pit of your stomach, you can hardly breathe. “No, ma’ I swear, I’ll… be better, don’t send me to live with him, he’s worse than Oliver.” That was a stretch but, at least, you knew Oliver. You haven’t spoken to your dad in over five years, on purposefully.

“You gave me no choice, I can’t keep up with you and Anthony agreed straight away to take you off of my hands. You’ll be better off with him away from… whatever all this is,” she gestures around you. “The people you hang around with aren’t your friends, they’re bad influences and if sending you away is what it takes then I’m doing it.” You slumped back against the chair, all thought and speech having left you.

Out of all the punishments to get this is the worst one, having to leave and live with your biological dad, especially now with his life how it is… it was going to be the worst.

“Hey, Happy, long time.” You called walking out of the apartment complex for the last time and smiling at the man you hadn’t seen since you were a kid. You used to spend summers with Tony, admittedly he wasn’t around much during them but it was cool when you were five. He opened the door for you, “Still driving Tony around, huh?”

Happy rolled his eyes as you got in. “Still got that stupid skateboard. I’m actually Asset Management now, a big step up from just driving your dad around.” He tells you as he gets into the driver’s seat, driving towards your new home- for however long Tony would allow,  _heck maybe he’ll give up on you like everyone else has._  “So, getting into fights? Remember the moves I used to show you in the boxing ring during the summer?” Happy looked at you in the rearview mirror.

“I do.” You chuckled, “Who woulda thought they’d come in handy?” You mused, smiling brightly out of the car window. You had missed certain things when ignoring Tony, like the people he had around him that looked out for you when he was working.

It’s silent for a long few minutes. “He has missed you, you know?” You don’t look at Happy as you nod once, an indication that you know and heard him, but you weren’t in the mood for talking about that just yet. 

  
You opened the car door before Happy could, earning a slight glare from the adult as you grinned happily. Placing the skateboard down you skate down the path, frowning at the moving truck outside where you’ll be living. It was an odd building, upstate New York and slightly hidden but noticeable if you’re intentionally looking for it.

“What’s this place? And what’s the truck?” You yell to Happy, who is pulling out the few bags of stuff you’ve brought along with you, he slams the boot closed and struggles. “Do thy need a hand?” You skate over to Happy, he grunts and slams a bag into your hand as you chuckle lightly, skating beside him.

Happy entered a code into the wall on the side of a door, “This is the new Avengers base, Tony wanted you here because he’s going to be spending a lot of time around here, plus one of the safest places in the entire world.”

You nod slowly. “Yeah, a giant building that houses the elitist team of superheroes in the world, that are constantly targeted by the government and villains… super safe.”

“No skateboarding in the base.” Happy ignore your sarcasm as he yells at you; trying to keep up as you speed off to explore. “That truck also has all your stuff in it,” you skid to a halt and look back at Happy who is smugly smiling. “Figured you wouldn’t have a lot, so we had to get a few things to make up a room for you.”

You sighed slightly, it was too much, as always. All you needed was a room with a bed, away from people; your own space that’s all.

“Hey, none of that. Just wanted you to feel welcome, everyone rooms are personalised to them.”

You give Happy a blank look. “Oh yeah? How is my room personalised when you guys don’t even know me anymore,” it was a low blow, even for you but you had said it. He doesn’t seem to outwardly react to what you said but you still feel bad, instead choosing to pick up your skateboard and nod for him to show you around.

Before you and Happy can even start voices are heard behind you, one of them you know well. You look over your shoulder to see your father walking down the hallway, heavily invested in the conversation. Dark navy suit with glasses covering his eyes, a phone in one hand and waving it about when he uses his hands to emphasise a part of the conversation. He hasn’t changed all that much, appearance wise at least. The person next to him appears to be someone your age, a boy. Brown hair and eyes, a little shorter than you - since you are taller than your dad now, that thought made you smirk.- He looked innocent enough, couldn’t be an Avenger around here.

“There’s my boy,” Tony states when he finally notices you. “Got here earlier than I expected.” He glances at the watch on his wrist, before stopping a few feet in front of you, smiling as you shrug silently. “Y/N, we have a lot to discuss and I know your mother would want me to give you some moral speech but… clean slate here, start fresh. I won’t lecture you on your past because this is a new beginning, deal?” He extends a hand to you, you quirk an eyebrow but take it, a chance to miss a lecture from Tony Stark? Anyone would take it.

You glance at the boy beside Tony, quirking an eyebrow on how he refused to meet your eyes and shifted awkwardly. “Didn’t peg you for working, let alone, living with a group of people. What gives?” Tony rolls his eyes.

“You need a haircut.” Tony quips, eyeing the slightly shaggy hair.

“And you need to shave _that_ , still… what’s new?” You snap back, causing the boy beside Tony to widen his eyes at your sassy remark. Tony just chuckled and shakes his head, only a Stark can out-sass a Stark, and you’re a Stark. “I can’t stand here and pretend that guy ain’t there, it’s weird.” You suddenly say, looking from Tony to the boy.

You watch as he stands up straight, wiping his hands on his jeans before extending a hand to you like Tony had done… only he doesn’t speak. “Uhh- a name would be good too if you want?” You smile slightly, you felt slightly bad for him, he was clearly nervous- for whatever reason.

“Parker, Peter. It’s Peter Parker,” he stumbles and chuckles at himself. You raise your eyebrows to your dad who is sighing regretfully at Peter. “I’m an intern and-”

“Intern? Why do you need an intern? Dumbest thing I’ve heard all week,” you snicker and Tony sighs. “Not to be rude, but why am I meeting an intern?” You smile apologetically to Peter who shrugs, placing his hands inside his jeans pockets, you only just notice the science pun t-shirt he is wearing; what a dork, is all you can think.

Tony smirks. “Peter is going to the school you’re attending now, thought it’d be a good start that you know someone, plus Peter will keep me updated on you, essentially.” You groan loudly, shaking your head at Tony. “Peter is great, you two will get along just fine. You’ll ride to school together, it’ll be great, trust me.” Instead of arguing, you bite your lip and force a smile, nodding in agreement. Tony smiles, clapping his hands before asking Happy to follow him to make sure all the arrangements for your room has been met.

Once Tony is out of sight, your smile drops and you look at Peter who smiles hopefully at you. Honestly, you didn’t want some forced friendship between you and your father’s intern, you didn’t want anything to do with your dad in the first place. You already have friends, great ones and you didn’t need any here because you weren’t going to end up staying here.

“In school, we don’t know another, got it? Don’t even look in my direction, Parker. I don’t need Tony’s minion being all buddy with me.” Peter’s eyes went from hopeful and optimistic to confused, and concerned. “Got it?” You ask again, stepping forward, glaring at Peter who nods once. “Good, nice meeting you, by the way.” You say truthfully before walking away and leaving behind a very confused, slightly hurt Peter Parker.


	2. First Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a filler chapter, still important but more happens after this chapter, so just don’t kill me for making you wait for this filler chapter

You entered the schools building, already hating it. The stares you got from the other students, the whispers as you walked past, you just wanted to turn around and leave again. You ignored the other students and walked briskly to your assigned locker, sighing as you had your backs to the prying eyes of the other students. A small part of you had hoped your mother would’ve broken by now, maybe missed you and wanted you home but you knew that’d never be true. You shoved everything you didn’t need inside the cramped locker, glancing at the schedule that had been given to you.

You hated this place already, a science and technology school, of course, Tony would send you here. You turned around, shrugging your worn bag over your shoulder and glancing up, your breathing stopped as you see a crowd of people all staring back at you. Well, this isn’t totally awkward- you bitterly thought to yourself, you gave a small, awkward smile before scurrying off down the hall.

You end up bumping into someone, well they bumped into you. Their messenger bag dropping to the floor and opening, revealing a sketchbook that had doodles on the front. “I’m sorry, wasn’t looking where I was going.” You trailed off watching as a girl with brown, messy, curly hair that was held in a ponytail at the nape of her neck, picked everything off of the floor.

Your eyes follow as she stands up, a blank expression on her face as she looks up at you. A black, oversized jacket doms her look, she actually looked great. “I figured that when my bag fell to the floor.” Her voice dripping with sarcasm, you cock an eyebrow in reply. “I take it your new here, would’ve remembered seeing the second tallest building in New York attend Midtown High.” You roll your eyes at the attempted joke of you being tall.

“Nice, that’s the first tall joke I’ve gotten since arriving.” You inform and she shrugs one shoulder, “Y/N Stark, new guy and doesn’t want to be here guy.” You extend a hand, she glances you over before placing her own tanned, small hand in yours and shaking- with amazing strength.

“I’m MJ,” you nod once. “Let me look at that,” she grabs your schedule from your hand, “huh, you have art first with me. I’ll show you the way.” She slaps the piece of paper firmly against your chest, you grab it before it can fall and move to keep up with her- not that it was difficult, your legs are longer than hers.

Not a lot of conversation is made with MJ, you’re grateful for that. She makes small comments about some classes as you pass, also some students- mostly the students- you actually liked her dry sense of humour, considering you shared the same. She moved to sit at the back of the class, you quickly followed, averting your eyes at the students sat watching you.

“How does it feel to be the celebrity of the school?” MJ asked, pulling out her pencils and sketchbook. You didn’t give her answer, not that she cared. “They’ll get bored of you soon, you aren’t Stark himself, they’ll realise that.” You let out a small chuckle, glancing at MJ who was slouched in her seat eyeing the outside the window with her arms crossed.

“Well, I won’t be sticking around long enough to see them get bored of me.” You inform, also crossing your arms, that catches her attention. “I’m not staying here, I’m not staying with Tony; I’ll be gone by the end of the week… or kicked out.”

Surprisingly, you had a lot of lessons with MJ but a few of them also involved Peter Parker. You tried not to get aggravated by that, he wasn’t the one you should be angry with but, you knew, whatever happened here he’d tell your father. His own personal little spy; watching and keeping an eye on you. When lunch rolled around you ended up following MJ, sitting with her as she pulled out a book and began to read, totally ignoring you and the people that kept glancing at you both.

You pulled out your phone, sighing gently when none of your friends had bothered to text you, some not even bothering to reply to your texts. You tried to not let that get to you, running a hand through your messy hair and placing your phone down with abandon. You glance to your left to see Peter sat at the end of the table, chatting happily with a boy across from him. Admittedly, Peter had made effort to stay away from you, to keep out of your way and not be in your proximity unless necessary and you admired that.

As the day progressed you realised a few students were nice, too nice to your liking- MJ even agreed. Girls smiling, batting their eyelashes at you and guys glaring and sizing you up - not even in a good way, in the way to see if they could fight you- it made you want to roll your eyes, the number of people skipping up to you to hold your bag; be your friend and try to provoke you.

“You’re like a shiny new toy, it’s disgusting,” MJ muttered as you passed a group of Junior girls stood at their lockers.

You sighed and shrugged, zipping up the hoodie you are wearing under the denim jacket. “You become used to the unwanted advances.”

“Not interested in becoming the most popular guy in school? Figured you’d want that type of thing.”

You inwardly chuckled, nudging her gently as you walked out of the school. “Definitely not. I am more of a suffer in silence type, rather not have the attention and people prying into my life.” MJ nods once raised eyebrows and shrugged with one shoulder.

Living with Oliver for most of your life made you want to be closed off. The things he said, how he acted, you didn’t want to give him any more reasons to hate you. So, suffering alone and not telling anyone that you are gay seemed… the best option for yourself. 

Admittedly it made life… difficult. You couldn’t be yourself around anyone, none of your friends knows, in case they let it slip, your whole you’ve been walking on eggshells. It just felt natural to keep this yourself, it was easy to be straight and have people not care than gay and people know. 

“You’re not what I thought Tony Stark’s son would be like,” MJ tells you honestly. “That’s neither a compliment or an insult, so take it as you please.” You chuckled lightly, waving as she walked in the direction of the school buses.

Glancing ahead you see the black Audi waiting for you, the driver stood and patiently waiting for you to walk up to him. You let out a long-winded sigh before strolling up, offering a small awkward smile as he opens the door for you. You slump against the white leather seats, biting your bottom lip as you watch Peter run towards the car, offering a few apologies before getting in on the other side.

You guessed that Peter would be getting a lift back, considering he had “work” with Tony. Your eyes remained focused on the window, watching as you drove past various buildings and people. Ignoring whatever song the radio was playing, you could see Peter’s faint reflection in the window, his head was down and he was playing with his phone. You quickly pulled out your own phone, sighing softly when you still had no texts from your friends or even your bandmates. You typed out a few more texts, hoping they’ll reply soon and you can sneak out to see them.

Once you got back to the Avengers base, you followed Peter inside and watched as Tony greeted him happily, you narrowed your eyes at the interaction but brushed off how easy of a connection they had with one another.

“Make any friends?” Tony turned to you, already telling Peter to meet him down in the labs- a place that you’re not allowed in, not that you cared. You shrugged a shoulder, throwing your bag onto a sofa and watching as Tony exhaled slowly. “Did you at least try?”

You shrugged again. “I guess, I met one person but, honestly everyone kept staring at me and acting like total pricks.”

“Hey, language.” Tony pointed sternly, you raised an eyebrow at the man dressed in a Tom Ford suit. “It’s good that you met one person, I guess. Need any help with homework or… didn’t get bullied did you?” You scoffed at that, running a hand through your now messy hair and Tony held his hands up, “Just making sure. I’ll leave you to whatever if you need me I’m down in the labs just alert Friday that you need me.”

You frowned slightly. “What happened to Jarvis?” Tony chuckled, “I don’t want to know actually, I’ll be in my room if you happen to need me.” You rolled your eyes, grabbing your bag and slinging it over a shoulder before you could walk off though, Tony grabbed your left shoulder and made you turn back to him. You slightly looked down at Tony, frown etching upon your face as Tony stared up at you.

“You’re my son, you know that I care about you, right?” You didn’t nod but he carried on talking anyway; you knew he would. A part of you thought maybe Peter had told him what you had said to Peter once he left. “I just wanted you to know how happy I am that you’re here, you’ve grown up so quickly, literally that growth spurt… hate that you’re taller than me now. You’ve grown into a great lad, Y/N, and  just want your experience to be better here.”

You took that all in, pushing a smile on your face and placing a hand on Tony’s shoulder also, patting it three times awkwardly. “Uh- yeah, I’m sure it will be.” Is all you can manage and Tony smiles slightly, taping your chest once before leaving for the lab.

Your eyebrows furrowed as you remained stood where Tony left you, apart of from you wanted to really try and make a good life here; clearly Tony wants that. You’re pulled from your thoughts when your phone  _pings_.

A simple text message displayed on the notification screen.

_‘Band performance, Wednesday 11 pm. You able to sneak out and come?’_

Any thoughts before had left as you typed a message back, smirking slightly as you agreed to it. It’d be easy sneaking away from here, so you hoped anyway.


	3. Save The Nerds

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there's like one punch in this chapter!

[Originally posted by blackpeache](https://tmblr.co/Zvs-ix2UGt0nr)

You walked out of your bedroom and towards the kitchen, you had successfully avoided any social interaction with any Avenger since living at the base. How? You made sure to ask FRIDAY where was everyone and gave you alternate routes to places. You typed quickly on your phone as you entered the kitchen, heading straight for the fridge to grab a light bite to eat before bed.

You glance up and met with a dude in a red suit, looking through the cupboards, it takes you a second to know that it’s Spider-Man. Tony talked about the new addition non-stop, it was very annoying but also, you didn’t really care much for his superhero life. You sighed gently, choosing to just ignore the dude and get your food as quickly as possible. You didn’t think Spider-Man lived here, you hadn’t seen him before now but then again you hadn’t exactly left your room to find out who did live here.

“Oh! Hey, sorry I didn’t think anyone else was up.” His voice sounded familiar but you shrugged it off. You didn’t reply or even turn to look at him. “Uh-I’m-”

You rolled your eyes. “I know who you are, no need for introductions I’m sure.” You snap grabbing the Doritos and turning back around, raising an eyebrow at the fidgeting Spider-Man who seemed to be debating on what to say. “Well, it’s been nice meeting you Spider-Boy.”

“It’s Spider-Man,” he crosses his arms and the eyes of the mask seem to be narrowing in your direction, you raise an eyebrow but shrug at him.

“You’re how old?” You ask and he doesn’t reply. “That’s what I thought, Spider-Boy. See ya around, I’m sure.” You walk off back towards your room not even glancing back at the “superhero”.

***NEXT DAY***

You decided to stick to yourself through most of the school day, you had to make it through one more day and then you’d be hanging with your band. You weren’t really used to this type of school; mostly well mannered young people and all of them nerd-brains. You quickly understood why Tony wanted you to go here, it’s the type of place Howard would’ve sent him when he was your age. The only people that didn’t treat you like a freak was Mj, Peter and his friend, Ned.

The first few days went by slowly, you mostly kept to yourself and kept your head down. You had already attracted so much attention, the media had found out that Tony was, finally, looking after his only son. Your face plastered on various blogger articles and magazines, this is what you hated most about being a Stark; the attention from the media wasn’t good for your general anxiety.

“Nice nerd jumper,” A deep voice and a few chuckles capture your attention as you open your locker, you glance to your left and see a few seniors crowding around someone, looked like the nerd school had nerd bullies. “Since you love extra credit work, Parker, how about you do my homework?” Your hand clenched at your side and your jaw locks. “I wasn’t really asking, you’re gonna do my homework otherwise-” You slammed your locker closed, earning the attention of most people.

You turn your head, raising an eyebrow in challenge. “Oh, did I interrupt?” You asked loudly, the three Seniors all squared the shoulders and nudged the obvious leader. He wasn’t as tall as you, not many people are, but he was certainly bulkier and carried more muscle than you.

“I’d stay out of this, rich boy. Wouldn’t want you going home crying to the butler,” he snickered with his friends and you laughed along with them, sarcastically, of course. “And we don’t have a problem, right Peter?” He looked at Peter, who was stood in confusion and, what you assume is fear.

“You see, funnily enough, I don’t have a butler. But I will kick your ass if you threaten Peter again, okay?” You smiled brightly, gesturing for Peter to walk over to you, he did with a frown glancing at you and the seniors. “I really, really, wouldn’t get on my bad side and not because I’m a Stark but because anyone that thinks it’s okay to push people around, well, they don’t exactly have a great time. No one likes the hospital, do they?” You grab Peter’s shoulder and shove him to walk down the corridor.

“The worst damage you can do is get your father on us, but he doesn’t care about you enough to bother. I mean, he paid for you to get in here, that’s about it.” You stopped walking, Peter looked over his shoulder and shook his head once but the rage burning inside of you was scorching and you turned around to see him and his friends laughing. “Your life is sadder than Parker’s, his parents are dead, so they can’t even try but yours is still alive.” And that tipped you over the edge.

You stalked the few steps to him and punched him. Hard. Harder than you intended to but you didn’t care, you hissed pulling your fist after connecting it with his nose. The contact hurt but worth it as he stumbled to the floor, nosebleeding down his hoodie and his friends all crowding him as onlookers watched in shock. You turned back to Peter, stalking down the corridor towards the school exit with Parker trying to keep up with your strides.

Once you’ve both left the building you slow your pace, walking the busy Queens streets and taking in the chaos around you. A part of you felt guilty, you shouldn’t have punched him and it was only going to get you in trouble at school and with Tony- you shake that thought quickly away; you wanted that, you wanted to get in trouble, enough that Tony sent you back home.

“Why did you do it?” You were startled from your mind by Peter, you didn’t think he was still beside you by how quiet it was. You glanced slightly down at him, he was only a few inches shorter. “Why did you bother getting involved?” He was frowning, hands in his jean pockets as he looked at you.

You go back to looking straight ahead, shrugging with one shoulder. “No one should be bullied, no one should be made to feel so small and insignificant like that. Pushed around and belittled, threatened to point of fear settling in. It’s not right.” You shake your head, placing your hands in the pockets of your grey hoodie. “I know that feeling all too well, it’s actually why I was sent here.”

“Tony said you kept getting into fights and hanging around with the wrong people,” Peter simply stated and you nodded.

“Yeah, I kept picking fights with bullies, well, one bully. Martin, he made my life a living hell, in fact, he still does to this day. So bad I stopped going to school on certain days, found a small group of guys and befriended them, they didn’t know I was Tony’s son at the time. Martin was able to twist it back to me, make out he was the victim all the time and it was believable, I wasn’t a good student anyway. Got fed up one day, pushed me too far and I snapped, serious fight and he got badly hurt.” Look to Peter who is nodding along, “I’m not trying to make out what I did was okay, it isn’t. But… it felt nice to be in control of my life for a while.”

Failing to mention that the only reason you and Martin actually fought was because he used you, humiliated you and threatened to out you… you had to take extreme measures; only in the hopes that he’d get the message, that he won’t out your sexuality. 

You both go back to silently walking beside one another, neither speaking or looking at each other. You didn’t really know where you were, luckily it seemed that Peter did.

“Well, I guess, thank you Y/N.” He nods with a slightly confused frown at you, “I don’t think you should’ve punched him though or gotten involved, you’re going to get in trouble again.”

You shrugged and smiled slightly. “Hey, nothing I can’t handle. I’m Stark’s son, how much trouble can I really get into, right? Plus, you’re a little nerd, someone had to stop you from getting your ass beat.” He chuckled and rolled his eyes at you. “Seriously, you shouldn’t let them push you around like that. You work for Tony now, you gotta learn to stick up for yourself, kid.”

“We’re the same age, Y/N!” Peter laughs and shakes his head.

“Yeah, but-I’m taller than you, so automatically you’re a kid to me.” You shrugged, “I don’t make the rules.” You look up at an apartment building that Peter walked the steps to, he turned his head nodding for you to come inside but you shake your head, nodding to a black SUV parked a distance away with Happy in the driver’s seat giving you a glare. “That’s my ride to hell,” you grin as Peter looked sympathetically at you. “I’ll be fine, just stay out of trouble?” You suggested and Peter sighed.

“Wish I could.” You laughed.

Walking backwards before turning around and strolling over to the car, Happy got out giving you a stern huff of disapproval, ignoring Peter waving too. You smiled and awkwardly wave back to Peter before getting into the opened passenger door, watching Happy walk back to his side.

“You’ve got a lot of explaining to do,” Is all he mutters before driving off back to the base.


	4. That Boy Is Bad News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aunt May doesn't trust you. Your band is having a gig, Tony doesn't like being lied to.

[Originally posted by infinitiywars](https://tmblr.co/Z8OKHj2RYoeae)

You grabbed the denim jacket that was hanging by the front door, glancing over your shoulder to make sure no one had suspected anything. You opened the door and left, running down the pathway and to the small opening where you jumped the fence. A smile breaking upon your face at the old beat-up band van waiting for you, as promised.

The side door slides open and reveals two of your favourite people. You jog over, already climbing in and hearing them shout approval of you being back. Johnny, Marty and Kev, all hollering as you chuckled sitting down in the back with the band equipment.

“So, livin’ with the dreaded sperm donor again, how ya feelin’?” Kev asked, up front and driving towards the venue. Looking in the rearview mirror at you and grinning, his lip ring catching up on the top row of his teeth.

It felt like so long since you had seen these guys, it had only been a few days. You had met them after a big fight with Oliver, you left the apartment in a hurry and ended up stumbling upon them hanging out in their van. Johnny strumming his guitar, Marty was laying down some lyrics and Kev, well, he was being Kev and smoking in the back of the van with his girlfriend. They had welcomed you almost instantly, seeing you in a stressed, almost scared, state of mind and looking like you had nowhere to go- because you didn’t. They knew that all too well; they basically live in this small four-by-four mini-van, you only really know Johnny’s story but he had told you the others had similar upbringings.

“Not too great,” you sighed out. “I get he’s trying, plus a roof over my head but… he doesn’t get it.”

Johnny turns around in his seat beside Kev, a small frown appearing on his conventionally attractive face; blonde hair and blue eyes, light scruff, and a charming smile. “I never understood the hatred for Stark, what he does that’s so bad?” Johnny is pretty but that’s the only thing he has, plus his singing voice. He could make it big time if he found four other clean, pretty boys, like him.

You let out a small chuckle, glancing at Marty who just rolled his green eyes. “He’s never really been around, I spent summers with him and he sent cards on holidays and birthdays but he’s never tried to get to know me. He has no idea who I am, yet I’m his son? I just don’t have that connection, it’s always been distant no matter what age, no matter if I stopped contact, before then it was like… I’ve always viewed him how the world has, he’s Tony Stark -

“He’s this billionaire, superhero and that’s all I know,” you shrugged, “And before I wanted to know him, before Iron Man, I wanted to have that bond. I wanted someone to know me, someone I could trust with anything and for that person to be my dad, but it just never happened and I don’t think it ever will happen now.” It’s silent after that small rant, although it felt like a weight had been lifted from your shoulders as soon as it was said.

“Well…” Marty began, “very enlightening but can we step on it, we’re gonna miss our slot.”

You watched as the band set-up, smiling to yourself. Music was the only thing you really loved, you could be whoever you wanted and sing whatever you wanted, no judgement or opinions. It was your thing and you took pride in it. 

You’d change the band name if you were allowed, but Johnny loved the name. There wasn’t much of a crowd at the bar, a few drunken men and girls, all chatting to one another than pay you guys attention. You gave a quick smile to Johnny as you grabbed the bass guitar, ready to play. 

“Hey, I looked at your songs the other day.” Johnny muttered to you, you nodded once, “whenever you have the time, we should totally go over the music behind it and see if we can play them at gigs like this.” He nudged you. 

All the stress, all the worries that had been burdening you this past week melted at Johnny’s words. The thought of your band, finally, playing your songs brought you more joy than anything ever could- instead of all the Green Day, Fleetwood Mac and Def Leppard covers all the damn time. 

##  **PETER’S P.O.V**

**2AM**

Peter sighed as he remained sat on top of a rooftop, watching the silent Queen’s streets. He was used to the quietness sometimes, he didn’t mind it but just made the night drag on. He liked the action sometimes, the intense adrenaline rush that courses through his veins. He lifted the mask so he could eat the pop tart he took from the Avengers base, munching on it quietly.

His phone buzzed, he rolls his eyes, likely being Ned asking for updates.

_Where do you live?? - Unknown_  It buzzed again.

_This is Y/N Stark btw!_

Peter frowned slightly, quickly typing a reply, that was his address.

**Why?? - Peter**

_Cuz’ Tony is gonna kill me - Y/N_

_Snuck out to meet some friends. If I’m at yours he won’t get as mad about it cuz well it’s you! - Y/N_

Peter frowned slightly, did he really want to help you get out of trouble? You did punch a guy for him at school, plus get grounded because he was getting bullied.

**Okay, fine. You gotta be quiet, my aunt will throw a fit!!! - Peter**

Peter didn’t receive any texts from you after that. He swung home, pulling off the suit and waiting near the apartment door for you to knock. He felt nervous, he only ever had Ned round this place; well, your dad had been here, but that didn’t really count as ‘friend’. Are you even a friend to him? You did state to Peter to stay away from him, yet you’re the one texting and beating people up.

Before he has time to overthink some more he hears movement outside the door, he flings the door open and meets your startled eyes. Peter frowns at your choice of outfit; ripped, black skinny jeans, a beat-up tee that has the words “Head Rush” printed on in AC/DC font. He was used to the layering, Borg collar denim jacket, simple v-neck and jeans.

“Peter?” A voice stops him, he turns his head and you are behind him looking just as caught off guard as him. “What’s going on?” May’s voice asks, she’s tying the belt around her robe and looking between you and him for a solid minute. Instead of answering right away, Peter opens the door and nods for May to follow him to the kitchen. “Who is that guy? What is he doing here at gone two in the morning? It’s a school night, Peter!”

Peter sighs, shaking his head lightly. “It’s Stark’s son,” as if that explains everything and it seems to because May just exhales exasperatedly. “He went out and needed me to help cover him, it’s the least I could do since he got in trouble because of me. Just go back to sleep, I got this under control.”

May scoffs, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows at her nephew, “Under control? He shouldn’t be here, he should know better than to use his friends. I thought you said this guy was mean? He’s sounding like a bad influence, Peter. I don’t like that he thinks he can just phone you up at, god knows what hours, and expect you to help him get out of trouble.”

“Hey, sorry to interrupt,” Your voice calls out, Peter turns and sees you, for the first time, looking a tad guilty and timid. “Uh- my dad sent a car, I’m leaving now. Thanks, Peter.” Peter nods, eyebrows furrowing at the fact you’re leaving, “Nice meeting you,” You call to May whom curtly nods in your direction as you leave.

##  **NORMAL P.O.V**

You slip into the flashy sports car that pulled up outside Peter’s apartment complex. Already knowing it would be another lecture, another couple weeks added to the sentence, and hopefully one more step closer to being back home.

Yet, all that was running through your head was what Peter’s aunt had said about you. Peter didn’t shut the door, plus they weren’t exactly talking quietly amongst themselves. A bad influence? You? Yeah, you didn’t exactly abide by rules and you sometimes like to be a little reckless but a bad influence? And Peter had called you ‘mean’? You didn’t exactly give the best first impression and you told Peter to stay away from you but that doesn’t mean you’re ‘mean’!

“Wanna tell me where you actually went?” Tony asked

“Nope.”

Tony exhales loudly through his nose, “Judging by the outfit, I’m guessing… a concert?” You didn’t respond and remained to stare out the window, “I’m trying to keep this thing afloat, I know you’re trying to sink it. Unfortunately for you, we’re both Stark’s, stubborn as shit, so get used to the fact we’re going to be butting heads for a long time, Y/N.”


	5. Star Wars Fans Are Crazy

[Originally posted by marvelheroes](https://tmblr.co/Zh5eWm2QjNb-f)

You hadn’t seen much of Peter after the incident, well you were avoiding him. Tony had also grounded you for multiple weeks, a full-blown lecture had left the billionaire, and he even threatened to take away your phone but he didn’t… yet.

The school didn’t end up suspending you, unfortunately. You supposed it was cause everyone had witnessed the jerks bullying Peter before you got involved, why you got involved was still a mystery to everyone- including yourself. So, it was safe to say you were back to your old ways; fighting, sneaking out and trying to get suspended from school. Maybe, May was right about you, clearly, you’re a bad influence. You’ve gotten over a month worth of grounding, not even after a week of living with Tony.

Deciding to opt out of getting a lift straight home after school you sneakily avoided the driver and walked through Queen’s streets. It was a sort of nice day, you hadn’t left the Avengers base in days, it was nice to walk through the hustle and bustle of the streets.

Just when you were about to pull your headphones out an arm is slung over your shoulders, bodies either side of you close you in. “Well, if it ain’t Stark’s boy,” you turn and see the face of the guy you punched for Peter, smirking at you. “Let’s take a shortcut,” he forcefully makes you turn to the left and down an alley away from prying eyes.

You sighed, not scared just… annoyed, “Are we really going to do this?” You asked, he let go of you and stepped in front of you. Glancing over your shoulder you see his two friends behind you, arms crossed and grinning, you should’ve seen this coming really.

He nods, grinning and showing his teeth, he cracks his knuckles in preparation. You go to take off your bag but hands grab your shoulders, locking you into the place. His friends hold you, like a punching bag for him. At least Martin fought fairly- is all you can manage to think at this moment. He steps up to you, chuckling as you glare at his stupid face, of all the days to not get a lift home; you had to pick today.

He balls his hand into a fist, instantly punching you in the stomach. You gasp and try to lean over, but his friends hold you in place, laughing as you hiss in pain. Then a firm punch is cracking against your nose, you already feel the blood starting to drip from it and then you taste it when the blood drips down to your lips. Another punch is landed on your stomach again before they release you, allowing you to fall to the floor, coughing and in pain.

“Next time don’t get involved something you can’t handle, Stark.” His voice is hard and threatening, “Leave the saving to your dad, he’s better at it than you.” He spits out before leaving, giving you a slight forceful nudge with his feet as he passes you.

You stay on the alley floor, breathing hard and watching as blood falls to the floor as your head hangs in embarrassment and shame. The pain in your nose was throbbing, a headache was forming from it and the ache in your stomach was unbelievable. You shakily stand to your feet, wiping the blood on your grey hoodie sleeve, sighing as blood stained your white v-neck and splattered on your jeans. A mess is what you looked like.

Walking out of the alley, you held your head low, avoiding the weird looks or gazes you seemed to attract people. You checked your pockets for your phone, searching frantically for it, going through your bag but not finding it. They must’ve taken it from you when they left, you sighed, turning around and praying that you dropped it in the alley.

“Y/N?” You gulped slightly as you came face-to-face with Peter’s aunt, her face contorted into one of worry and concern, “What happened to your face?” She grabs your chin with her pointer and forefinger, moving it around and she examines the damage done. “Who did this to you? Where is Peter?”

You shrugged, you didn’t know the three guys names and you had no idea where Peter was, you opened and closed your mouth unable to find to form answers.

“Come with me,” She takes ahold of your hand, speaking softly and leads you across the road, you frowned because you didn’t realise how closeby Peter’s apartment was. She opens the apartment door, leading you to the kitchen where she pushes you onto a chair and tells you to stay. It’s silent as she rummaged through cupboards, pulling out a first-aid kit and sitting opposite you.

You looked anywhere but her as she cleaned up the blood, wincing when she put antiseptic on the small cut that went over the bridge of your nose. You glanced her way, her eyes full of concentration and worry, but her eyebrows furrowed in disappointment almost. Your mum had never cleaned your wounds, leaving you to do it yourself, she was never this attentive or gentle with you.

“The guy that was bullying Peter,” is all you can mutter, her hand stops and she looks at you over the frames of her glasses, “Uhh- him and his friends pulled me down an alley, he beat me up because I punched him, I don’t know their names.” You shrugged, averting your gaze and refusing to look at May, “I’m sorry.” You softly mutter.

May pulls her hand back, frowning and putting the wipe she was using on the table, “Hey, you don’t need to apologise for this. Those… idiots should be the ones apologising, okay?” You nod once, still not looking at her, “Y/N, hey, look at me,” you nervously shift your gaze to hers and lock eyes with her sincere ones. “I want to thank you for sticking up for Peter the other day, I don’t condone the punching but, he gets bullied a lot and he thinks I don’t know that. If those guys give you or Peter any more trouble, you let me know, got it?” Her voice was serious, sounding like a protective mother bear, you smiled and nodded.

May stands up, grabbing the bloody tissues and cleaning up the small dining table with a smile. You glanced around their apartment, it looked spacious and was decorated homely, photo frames were up on the walls and dotted on any available surface. You smiled at the cute, young photos of Peter, looks like he had grown all that much either.

“So, Peter tells me you got into fights with bullies at your old school, that’s why you’re living with Tony now,” May calls to you, her back turned and she turned on the kettle, crossing her arms as she turns to face you and leans against the counter. “He tells me everything, well not everything, but most things.”

You frowned but smile, wishing you had that type of relationship with someone. You didn’t have anyone in your life that you could really open up to, not even your half-brothers, not even your band-mates.

“Yeah, it was mostly just this one guy, Martin.” You shrugged slightly, “Used to torment me a lot, pick on me and… just the usual bullying stuff, no one believed me. I got the blame a lot, not that it ever mattered,” you sighed softly.

“Not even your mom believed you?” May frowned, she sighed, “Sorry I’m prying, Peter tells me I overstep my boundaries too much,” she chuckles and you shrugged it off.

You hadn’t really had anyone ever care enough to ask, “My mom… cares more about her boyfriend than me, that’s something I can say honestly,” May’s eyes softened at that, “I’ve never had anyone but me, it’s always just been me, not even Tony cares enough to ask my side of the story. I’m used to it,” Oversharing, that’s what you’re doing, someone gives you a little bit of nice attention and suddenly life story comes spilling out. “I didn’t mean to get Peter in trouble the other night, I wasn’t… trying to use him, not really. He’s nice… A genuinely nice guy, I didn’t want-”

“May, I’m home,” Peter’s voice calls into the apartment, you snap your mouth shut and glance over your shoulder to see Peter strolling into the kitchen, halting to a stop when he sees you, “Y/N?”

You give a slight awkward wave, “Sup?”

He shifts uncomfortably from foot-to-foot, clasping his hands together, looking as though he’s trying to form a coherent sentence. You give him all the time he needs, “what happened to your face?”

“Peter!” May reprimanded the boy, you let a slight choked chuckle at his brashness, “He was beaten up, by that boy he punched for you. I found him wandering the streets, cleaned him up as much as possible.” Peter nodded slowly, frowning and an evidence of worry etching on his innocent features, “Did you want to stay for dinner, Y/N? We’re ordering pizza tonight.”

You begin to shake your head, knowing you’ve already intruded enough, “No, I’ll call Tony and have him pick me up, thank you though, for everything.”

May scoffs, “Oh, honey,” She smiled as you raise an eyebrow, “You think I was actually asking, you’re staying for pizza if Tony has anything to say about it he can tell me himself.” You chuckled slightly, watching as she pulled out her mobile to inform Stark that you were here and was staying for dinner.

Peter shyly opened the door to his room, you smiled awkwardly as he invited you inside and quickly began cleaning up the “mess” laying around. He had bunk bed close to the window, a tv facing it and on top of the dresser. A desk with a computer sat, a few gadgets and a lot of posters made it feel more… nerdy.

His DVD collection wasn’t all that vast. Star Wars, Alien, Blade Runner and Harry Potter. He was more of a nerd than you originally gave him credit for, he was super nerdy. His desk was filled with math work he still needed to finish, plus science work that was finished but left messily out.

“Peter, Ned is here,” May called.

You turned in time for his best friend to walk through the door, he stopped in his tracks surprised to see you there too. You gave an awkward smile, looking at Peter who was still hiding all his mess.

“Ned, this is Y/N, Y/N that’s Ned!” He called from over his shoulder, shoving clothes into the dresser harshly. “Y/N is staying for pizza,” he informs Ned who just nods slowly.

It’s awkward silence from then on, you standing awkwardly as Ned and Peter exchange glances with one another. You literally wanted the ground to open up and eat you alive. You didn’t have anything in common with these guys, this is a disaster; one that could have been avoided if you were allowed to go home, May was too nice.

“So…” you begin, Ned looks up, “What do you guys normally do?” You shrugged, attempting at making this less awkward than it was.

Peter shrugs, “We normally watch Star Wars.”

“Oh,” you nod once, “I’ve never seen it, is it good?” They both widen their eyes, looking at you and then to one another in shock. “Did… I say something bad?”

Ned scoffs, “Never seen Star Wars?” He asked and you nodded, raising your eyebrows, “How? The only people who haven’t seen Star Wars are the actors and that’s because they lived them.” Peter let’s out a small chuckle over Ned’s outburst.

“Isn’t Star Wars for kids? It’s kinda nerdy.”

And that sparked a whole debate from both boys, they forcefully sat you on the edge of Peter’s bottom bunk and each took turns explaining why you were wrong. It was incredibly comical, especially when May brought in your guys box of pizza. Muttering an apology to you, you simply shrugged.

Smiling as you listened to the two nerds rant, telling you that you’re invited to the next Star Wars marathon- well, you’re being forced to attend it. Blissfully unaware that tomorrow in school your life would change, everything you had been keeping locked away and repressing would be spilling out. The secret you fight so hard to keep, to bury and forget about, would be spilled without your consent.


	6. Secrets Out Pt.1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Angst, homophobic slurs “fag”/ “homo” & bullying. Tony stepping up and giving an emotional speech

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I hope this chapter is okay /: I left it on a cliffhanger last chapter, I only hope I did this justice. Let me know if I need to change or rewrite anything for this chapter. - Rosalie

You spent most of the evening listening to Peter and Ned talk about Star Wars… for hours. They told plot holes, theories and just random facts about their beloved Star Wars. It was actually really interesting, kind of cute how devoted they are to the franchise. It felt like you are… friends, despite not wanting to make friends, they kind of treated like one.

“You look… happy,” Tony commented as he grabbed the orange juice from the fridge, looking at you as you quickly ate your cereal in mostly silence. “It’s a nice change, by the way.”

A chuckle escaped from you, “Well, thanks, I think. Peter invited me to a Star Wars marathon last night,” you shrugged as Tony raised his eyebrows. “He’s a massive nerd, no wonder he hangs around with you a lot.”

Tony rolls his eyes, placing the juice back and walking around the breakfast bar to you, “Just nice that you’re making friends and smiling, have a good day, ‘Kay?” You nod, raising an eyebrow as he pats your shoulder and leaves scrolling through his phone.

You place the bowl in the sink, grabbing your bag and quickly running out to the car. You always leave right at the last minute, but you always make it to school at right time because of the driver is the best there is. You hear your name being called, you frowned as the car pulled out to see your dad running out, phone in his hand.

“I can’t hear you, I’m going to be late!” You yell back at him, only for him to yell again but the car’s engine blocking the sound.

All through the drive to school, you tried to figure out what Tony was yelling; he looked shocked and anxious about something. You tried to shake the weird feeling off as the driver pulled up, you slowly got out and swung your bag over your shoulder. Frowning to yourself as you walked into school, too in your own mind to see that everyone’s eyes were on you- more so than usual.

“Y/N!” You look up to see Mj stalking to you, glaring at people in her way. You frowned at her tone of voice, it sounded like Tony’s. “I didn’t think you’d actually come in today,” she mutters as she reaches you. It’s only then that you realise how silent the school corridor is, everyone’s eyes on you and all muttering to their friends.

You step around Mj and continue walking, watching as people’s eyes follow your tall frame. A group of people crowded around a single mobile phone then looking up at you, you hadn’t gotten a new phone yet, so whatever had happened between yesterday to today. Mj was quick to catch up, talking but you weren’t listening.

People crowded around a locker, your locker. You walked up slowly, Mj closing her mouth and watching you closely. A few students moved out of the way, giving you room to walk up to it. A janitor stood in front of it, a bucket of soapy water on the ground and a sponge in his hand. Your heart sped up quickly, sweat began to break out across your forehead and your breathing laboured. You dropped your bag in shock-horror.

 _“Fag!” “Homo”_  written across your locker door in red.

You stood on the spot, watching as the Janitor tried, and failing, to scrub the homophobic slurs off of your locker.

“There’s an account on Twitter, they posted that you’re… gay, even put up a photo,” Mj raised her phone and showed you, your eyes drifted down to the screen.

Right there, on display, is a photo of you kissing a guy. You knew who it was but they blocked the others face, it was clear that it was you too. You knew who had posted that also. Your heart dropped in the pit of your stomach, the dread of this coming out, of you being out, and you felt sick over it.

Turning around, faced with a lot of people looking at you. Not in a disgusted way but pitying. Without even thinking you turned to the exit, leaving your bag and Mj, your name being called which only made you start running without thinking of where you’re going.

You just kept running, running through Queen’s streets and through crowds of people, pushing some out of the way. You ended up sitting on a top of a building, legs dangling off of the side, gaze cast downwards as you watched the people below going about their day. The Brooklyn breeze helped cool yourself down, your breathing regained its normal pattern but your heart hasn’t stopped pounding. The fresh panic bubbling inside of you.

Martin had obviously gotten out of the hospital. He obviously had taken the photo of you both kissing, probably for this exact reason.

This is not how you wanted to come out. Especially at this age, you wanted to wait, till you were in college, independent and away from Oliver. Away from anyone that could say anything or hurt you, just away from this life and able to be yourself. Martin has just ruined that. He had ruined life at your old school and done the same here. Tony was wrong, you couldn’t build something here because the past wouldn’t allow that.

You can only imagine the number of articles written about you. No wonder Tony was yelling after you, he was trying to warn you… you can only imagine what he must be thinking right now, of you and about you. You may not have a great relationship with him but the thought of him being disappointed, disgusted by you…

“Y/N Stark?” You jump and turn to see Spider-Man on the roof beside you. “Are you okay?”

You remained silent, unsure of how to answer that. You didn’t really know how you felt right now, so you don’t answer him and go back to looking at the crowd below. He ends up sitting beside you, legs dangling beside you, he starts chatting, like you two are best friends, he was filling the silence for you.

“I don’t want to go home,” is all you manage to mutter to him, “just dreading what Tony, and everyone else, will think of me.” Your eyes staring at your hands playing with a loose thread on your jumper.

“You don’t need to worry about Tony, what he’ll think of you. He thinks the world of you, he was so excited for you to come, despite the circumstances. If your friends don’t accept you then they’re not your real friends too,” You smiled slightly, one of Tony’s “work friends” telling you that lifts a weight, but you still have a slight fear of facing him now.

You sighed lightly, “I also just started to make friends with Peter, Peter Parker, he’s with my dad a lot. I just… I know how people, guys especially, get weird over being friends with…” you stop talking, looking away, “a gay dude. He seems nice but…”

Spider-Man nudges you, “I know Peter, you don’t have to worry about him, truly.”

You sighed lightly, lifting your gaze and looking across to the masked hero. “I should go home,” is all your able to mumble out, “Are you able to message Tony for me? I don’t have a phone!”

Spider-Man did offer to “swing” you back home but after today? You didn’t really feel like swinging across New York clinging to a superhero. The drive to the compound was silent, thankfully Tony didn’t come collect you but Happy did, he must’ve known you weren’t in the mood for talking because he turned the radio up slightly to fill the silent for you.

The Avengers base coming into the view only filled you with dread. The fear was creeping up your throat, like bile rising up and threatening to come out. You sat in the car for a few short minutes collecting yourself and your mind, exhaling slowly through your nose before opening the car door and getting out. Walking to the door and pushing it open, it’s silent in the lobby, thankful that Tony hadn’t been waiting for you to come home.

You silently walk to the kitchen where you can hear Tony’s voice having a one-way conversation it seems, walking around the corner you see the phone up against his ear, his demanding voice filling the usually silent kitchen. He sounded angry about something but you couldn’t retain the words he was saying just the tone, the fear was now prickling your skin. He catches your eyes briefly, almost instantly hanging up the phone and turning to you.

Then it’s just silence between you both, you stood in the kitchen doorway and Tony leaning against the kitchen counters, neither knowing what to say to one another.

“You don’t need to explain yourself to me, by the way,” Tony mutters, voice full of sincerity and giving a slight shrug towards you.

Shaking your head gently, “A guy called Martin said he liked me, apparently, it was why he was bullying me about being Tony Stark’s son. That’s how the photo come about, he must’ve taken a photo…” You trailed off as you explained the situation to Tony, “He blackmailed me for a while, used the fact we kissed to out me because mum’s boyfriend, Oliver, isn’t exactly entirely my biggest fan or very accepting.”

“It’s going to be okay, Y/N,” Tony quietly mutters to you but you shake your head.

“No, no it’s not.” You look at him, frowning and just feeling out of control of the situation, of this conversation. “Everyone has all these expectations of me being your son, they expect stuff that I can’t do and I’m not like you, people always remind me of that,” you didn’t want to cry but you felt the tears forming, “People look at me and point, that’s Stark’s boy but he’s nothing like his father such a waste of talent and a big disappointment.” You sighed gently, avoiding eye contact with him, “I’m… not like you or Howard, I’m not smart and I don’t think I’ll ever be and I’m- I’m gay.”

You could feel yourself shaking and you felt terrified of his reaction. This was the first time you were admitting that you’re gay, openly and to the man that is your father, a man who is a billionaire and didn’t want children till he found out about you. In a different reality Tony would have been the last, yet now he is the first person you’ve chosen to be honest with.

“Y/N look at me,” his gentle voice coaxes your eyes up and locks eyes with his, “you’re my son and I love you. I am so proud of you, whatever you decide to do in life, whatever journey you go on; I am proud of you no matter what. I wish I could tell you it’s going to be easy now but it’s not, you happen to be my son and that makes your life… so much harder, I’m sorry about that.” You nod slowly, “Honestly, I can’t judge you because college me was very…”

“I’m going to stop you there,” you quickly cut him off, he chuckles lightly. “You don’t mind that I’m gay?” Your heart still picking up in speed.

Tony smiles slightly, shaking his head. “I never thought I’d have children. You came along, I missed you coming into the world but when I first held you, I knew I’d love and protect you from anything bad in this world… I’ve failed a few times, a lot of times but the one thing I’ve never failed at is loving you. I’m sorry that your moment was taken from you, I’m sorry that asshole took your coming out moment from you, that was your moment.” You sniffled quietly, trying to hold back the tears, “but you get to be yourself now, you don’t need to hide behind a wall anymore, and I still love you and I’ll still protect you,” a few escaped, “starting by you giving me the name of the boy.”

You laughed lightly, wiping the tears from your cheeks and looking at Tony. He seemed hesitant, fiddling with the phone in his hands and shifting from foot-to-foot. You stepped forward, wrapping your arms around Tony and holding him tightly, almost instantly he hugs you back. Tony was a few inches shorter, his head resting on your shoulder, his arms squeezing reassuringly every now and then.

A weight had been lifted, only slightly. You still had to face your mother, Oliver and your bandmates, but for now, having the reassurance from Tony was enough. You dread to think what the internet was saying about you, you dread to think what people were saying at school. But, for now, that was an afterthought. Right now, in this moment, you felt like a son getting hugged by their father and it was a feeling that you wanted to cherish.


	7. Secrets Out Pt.2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a continuation of the last chapter. It holds no "real" context for the rest of the story but I wanted to include this little bit

You stayed sat in the kitchen, propped at the breakfast bar and laptop open in front of you. Google open, your hands floating above the keyboard, twitching slightly as you thought against your mind. You wanted to know what people were saying but you knew, you knew it wouldn’t be the best form of therapy right now.

_Y/N Stark_

Was all you typed, pressing enter and watching the Google searches loading. News headlines all filled up your screen, previews of Youtube videos of people reacting to the “news”, and even Twitter mentions were loaded on the screen. A heavy sigh fell from your lips as you clicked on an article.

**_Tony Stark’s Son Gay?_ **

Lines like, _“Being a billionaire’s son must be difficult, as Tony’s son is now realising.”, “Having been kicked out of his last school for fighting…”, “Photo (clearly) shows Y/N kissing another boy but is he gay or just trying to get attention from his parents?”, “His mother, Lauren Fisher, refused to make a statement on her eldest son when…”, “Her boyfriend, Oliver Coles, had many things to say on the matter of her eldest son, his views are below in the video”_

Your mum hadn’t answered your calls or texts, clearly, she wasn’t going to comment on this situation or really wanted to talk about it either. You scrolled down seeing a comment section, your heart sinking at the small number of comments already. A few were nice, clearly sad that you had been outed, a few were confused stating it could be a girl from the pic - because the face is blocked.

The video of Oliver was there, your mouse pointer hovering over the play button. You could tell from the preview shot it wasn’t good, he’s stood on the street and pointing at the camera with a face so furious. You clicked play, despite not wanting to. 

_“I always knew there was something going on. He gave his mother so much trouble, guess he’ll blame it on being queer now. Just like his father, blame it on someone else - I’ve never liked him, he only cares about Y/N when he wants to. Like father like son, I say. They’re both assholes, fuck ‘em. He ain’t our problem anymore, that’s for sure. He never cared for his brothers or his mother, so why should we about him? He’s probably not even gay, just doing this shit for attention. He’s all about that-”_

Closing your laptop shut, a small exhale escaping you and resting your head in your hands. How were you ever going to show your face in public? You had to for school but you just didn’t want to. Tony’s press people were going to make you do an official statement or some shit, clear all the rumours and stuff up. You felt a small thumping at the back of your head, a headache forming due to the fact you were overthinking and stressed.

“Hey, Y/N?” You looked up, frowning when seeing Peter stood in the kitchen doorway. Backpack slung over his shoulders, a shy smile and kind eyes, “Mj wanted to check on-” He’s pushed aside by the girl.

You raised your eyebrows as she stalked over to you, shrugging her jacket off and sitting beside you. Peter and Ned also made their way into the kitchen, standing on the opposite side of you both, looking between you and Mj in silence.

“ _We_  all wanted to check on you,” Mj corrected, her usual bland expression upon her face, “make sure that you were okay since you ran out of school.”

You glance at Ned and Peter, both nodding in agreement of Mj, a frown now settling on your face some more. They travelled all the way upstate just to check on you? Yet, your own mother couldn’t do the same for you? You shake that thought away. The fact these three had cared enough to come see you, the only three to do that.

“You could’ve texted,” is all you manage to mutter to them.

Mj recoils back with a frown, scoffing a little at that. “Yeah, you’re response would’ve been “im fine” or something equally a lie, or no text back at all.”

“Friends would come check up in person,” Ned shrugs, placing his bag down and giving you a kind smile.

“You also don’t have a phone,” Peter points out, shrugging with one shoulder and giving you a half smile.

A chuckle escapes you, nodding slightly. You all remain in a nice silence for a bit, till Mj breaks it by giving you all the homework you missed, also letting you know that the Principle is looking into who wrote on your locker. You nodded slightly along with the conversation, drifting in and out of it but neither of them minded, knowing you had been through a lot.

You stare at the three of them, Mj rolling her eyes at some comment that Peter made, which made Ned laugh at the two of them. You had made three accidental friends, you told Peter to stay away from you but that went to shambles, which only led to Ned being your friend - because he wanted to show you the world of Star Wars. Mj had become your friend, somehow, from just showing you around and being in your art class.

“So, what did you guys want to do?” You spoke up, successfully halting whatever conversation was happening before you spoke.

Mj sighed loudly, “We’re gonna watch Star Wars,” Peter says with a bright smile.

You followed them to the big movie room, sighing and slightly chucking at Mj dragging her feet. She flopped down on one of the many sofas, you occupied the seat next to her, both of you finding more entertainment at the two nerds trying to work Tony’s home movie theatre.

“What’s going on?” You snapped your head to see Tony standing in the doorway, coffee in his hand and hair a slight mess, “it would help to use the remote.” He pointed to the object beside Peter’s hand, turning to raise an eyebrow at you, “You’re meant to be grounded!”

Mj chuckles from beside you, “Peter should be in detention too,” she points out, all attention goes to the stuttering boy who is fiddling with the remote as a way of distraction, “he missed two classes today.”

“…I missed the bus, that’s all.” He tried to defend, giving Tony a look before finally getting the thing to work. Star Wars menu flashing on the big screen, “we’ll only watch the one.”

Tony sighed lightly, shaking his head. “It’s Friday night, no yelling because I’m working, you’re welcome to stay as long as your parents know. There’s a driver if any of you need to go home,” you smiled slightly, “Also no making out in here,” the smile leaves your face instantly.

Peter sitting beside you and frowning at Tony, looking at you with an ‘is he being serious’ face. Ned just cackled, as Mj just sat up and stared at Tony Stark with a ‘are you shitting me?’ look.

“Oh,” Tony raises his eyebrows, “right, those two are nerds and will actually watch the movie, so nothing will happen anyway. Carry on.” Tony grins, waving as he shut the door and left you all in silence and darkness, the title menu only source of light.

“Well, he ain’t wrong.” Mj shrugs.

You let out a loud laugh, doubling over as Peter just rolls his eyes. “Play the movie,” you nudge him, settling back and smiling at Mj who is pulling a blanket she found over herself. You hear rustling, snapping your heads to see Peter and Ned opening a packet of Doritos, “are you sure they came here to check up on me or to use Tony’s movie theatre?”

“Any of you guys want some chips and salsa?” Ned whispered a childlike smile on his face, “We also have Hershey’s kisses,” you grab the Hersheys from him and he just chuckled.

Yourself and Mj sit and watch the movie, listening to Ned or Peter’s occasional commentary or trivia. Mj started to drift to sleep through the second movie, resting her head on the armrest and feet in your lap with the blanket covering her face.

“Hey, want a kiss?” You asked without thinking, turning your head when Peter hadn’t answered. You’re met with Peter just blinking at you, a raised eyebrow also, you frowned back at him and raised the packet of Hershey’s, “do you want one or not?”

Peter opened and closed his mouth a few times, perplexed. “Oh… wow, yeah. Thanks.” He takes one, unwrapping it and avoiding your eyes.

“Did you- Oh my god, that’s hilarious.” You mutter, chuckling beside him as Peter just sighs and eats the chocolate, “sorry, I shouldn’t laugh but that’s really funny,” you nudge him, he lets out a little chuckle. “Don’t worry I won’t ever come on to you, we’re friends,” you assure him.

Peter smiles, shaking his head, “It’s fine. You don’t need to explain or whatever, I just… I don’t know, yeah.” You chuckled with him at his ramblings, “you’re about to miss the best scene,” he nods to the TV and you quickly turn your attention back and watching.

Missing Peter’s slight sigh as he watches you enjoy the movie, holding the bag of Hershey’s kisses tightly in his hand, a small frown pinching at his eyebrows as he goes back to trying and watching one of his most beloved franchises.


	8. Never Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, this chapter starts on Saturday - the day after the Star Wars marathon- it ends on Monday, so it’s like a span of a weekend thing. I also can’t explain the press junket reader had to do in the beginning, I figured Tony’s people would want reader to officially come out, therefore a press junket type thing. I don’t know, I didn’t want reader to just do a tweet or whatever, it made sense when I wrote it… it might not come off well, I hope it does. - Rosalie

[Originally posted by jenniferlawrencesnapped](https://tmblr.co/Zt-tRy2YSsYjm)

“Are you ready kid?” Happy places a gentle hand on your shoulder, a small gesture of reassurance and comfort, “Pepper said you don’t have to do this,” he tells you again for the fourth time. **  
**

You shake your head, hands in your skinny jeans pockets and, a somewhat, smart shirt on. Pepper and Tony had repeatedly told you, you didn’t have to do an ‘announcement’ or weird press junket, but you did. You had to get out in the open, you had to say your piece and if you didn’t now then when would you? Spending time with Mj, Ned, and Peter really helped calm your nerves and had offered to be with you today but this was something you had to face alone. Anyway, Tony’s people kind of recommended that you do it, not recommend, told you to do this.

The doors open, many voices and cameras flashing peak through the doorway. Tony standing a grey suit smiles at you, a nervous smile, you hadn’t ever seen him this nervous. Even when he said he was Iron Man he seemed calmer than now.

“You look how I feel,” you chuckle walking up to meet him, he lets out a shaky exhale and starts brushing off the imaginary dust from your shoulders. “What’s wrong?” Your voice comes out as a mumble but Tony still hears it, he catches your eye for a brief moment.

He shakes his head, running a hand through his hair, “I hate you have to do this, hate that you don’t get to be a normal kid that only has to come out to their friends and family, not this, not the whole entire world,” he sounds angry, you look over his shoulder as Pepper steps out and gives you a small smile.

“The whole entire world is watching people like me anyway,” your eyebrows furrow, “being a Stark doesn’t change that, I’d still have to live this moment, no press, but same judgement and ridicule. Just wish mum was here, she’s really good at these things-”

“Yeah, Lauren has always been good at handling the media but it’s just me and you,” Tony chuckles as he cuts you off, you nod with a slight smile, “say your piece and then, if you want to, you can answer questions. I and Pepper will be right beside you, if you need anything, Pepper will be there.”

The door opens, Pepper gives you a confident smile as she links arms with you and walks you out. Cameras flashing, press people calling your name before being told to quieten down, a small podium is set up with a microphone that you have to angle up just to reach you. Pepper steps behind, giving you a little nod as you turn back to face them. Cameras rolling making this an live event, everyone all sat waiting patiently for their moment to question you.

Faces of news anchors that you’ve seen on the TV, journalists that you have read their articles, all sat waiting for you to reveal who you are. You glance at Tony and Happy, Happy giving you a thumbs up, Tony giving you a smile but the anxiety still behind his eyes. Worried… over his son, something you didn’t think you’d witness again.

“I actually didn’t come prepared with a speech,” you declare, “I suppose, I could say some really long speech about how I was robbed of a moment that’s meant to be mine, how millions of people go through the same thing so why am I any different… why am I getting all this attention, the reason is only standing five feet away from me,” that made a few of them laugh, Pepper quietly chuckling behind you,

“A man once stood in a similar situation to me, where he could have lived his life without people knowing who he really was, what he was doing and, probably, been better off. Yet, he did what he thought was best and I could never understand why till I stand here now. I could have just avoided all of this like many do. I wouldn’t be his… son if I did that though,” you sighed, “I am… gay,” you, somehow, managed to get out.

That sparked a chain reaction of them taking photos, firing question after question. You feel a hand on your shoulder, Pepper standing beside you as the security calmed down the journalists and press committee.

“Who was the other boy in the photo with you?” A reporter managed to shout above the crowd, which managed to get everyone to settle into silence as they waited in anticipation for the reveal.

You stand in silence, not sure how to answer that. You couldn’t reveal his identity, you’d be no better than him, “Just… some guy, he didn’t want his identity revealed, obviously, so I’m not going to reveal it as revenge.”

“What does your father think-” Before the journalist can even get their question out, Tony is pushing you towards Pepper and taking the stand.

“He’s my son and I love him no matter what, being a parent is having unconditional love and hoping they don’t make the same mistakes you make, hoping they learn from them like you have.”

Pepper tugs on your bicep, pulling you gently towards the exit as Tony deals with the onslaught of questions, better him than you, “That was really well done, Y/N,” you chuckle, your heart racing inside of your chest, “Stop worrying over how you did, your only intention was to set the record straight, you’ve done that and I am so proud of you.” She wraps an arm around your shoulders as you slowly walk down the corridor.

You nod once, “Feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders,” you sigh out, “I know people will still say sh-stuff but, at least, I don’t have to go into school on Monday and have people looking at me trying to figure it out themselves.”

Pepper chuckles lightly, “I’m glad you’re here with us again, I’ve missed you,” she pulls you in for a real hug, “I’ve been trying to get hold of your mother, she’s in France and Oliver refuses to cooperate with me.” She informs you, you sighed and shut your eyes tightly for a moment before pulling away and shrugging, “don’t pretend you’re not hurt, Tony thinks he can get away with it, and he does, but don’t you do start pretending with me too.”

You frown, “What’s wrong with Tony?”

She shakes her head, “Nothing to concern yourself with, I try to not get involved in all that Avengers stuff but he’s been having a tough time since they disbanded, essentially. He doesn’t talk about it much, you’ve helped though, despite the hiccups he has something to focus on.”

[Originally posted by christophrnolan](https://tmblr.co/Zd_VIv1Tnfnow)

## SUNDAY AFTERNOON

“I don’t know what she meant,” you complain to Mj, sat on the edge of the indoor pool, “I think, his anxiety is flaring up again,” you mutter quietly to her.

Mj nods slowly, a black tee covering her top half and bikini bottoms on, her hair is pulled into a messy bun on top of her head. Her legs, like yours, are dangled into the heated pool and lightly splashing her feet.

“I just… I don’t see how I’m helping him,” your eyebrows furrowed together, staring at the clear water below you.

“Well, I suppose it’s to do with the fact,” Mj began, her head tilting to the side, “with you closeby he doesn’t have to worry. You said his anxiety stemmed from the battle of New York, what he saw, what he continued to see in his nightmares afterwards. Maybe, he knows where you are, he doesn’t have to worry about losing you.” She shrugs lazily, “Y/N… you don’t want to admit it, but Tony loves you and you love him, maybe him being Iron Man is more than just protecting the world, it’s protecting his world…”

Mj is cut off from the pool door opening, Ned coming into view wearing very colourful swimming trunks. He waves happily at you both, gigantic smile upon on his face, you chuckle and wave back. Mj already yelling about how they’re late, how she’s been here for hours (an hour 34 minutes in reality, but you didn’t say that.) About to ask where Peter is until the door opens, Peter comes running in, phone in hand and shoving the electronics in front of Ned’s face.

Your eyebrows raise slightly due to Peter’s physical appearance. They start to furrow, your head tilting to the side as you take… all of him in. He’s a nerd, like the definition of the nerdy schoolboy. He loves Star Wars, knows a lot about science, is part of the school’s decathlon and wears sweaters; nerd. Yet, he looks like he goes to the gym every morning and evening, like he doesn’t eat sour gummy worms and throw them at you when you fall asleep during Empire Strikes Back. He’s hiding that body under those ridiculous sweaters… everyday.

“Y/N Stark dating Ryan Emmerson,” Ned’s voice echoes loudly in the indoor swimming pool room, you frown at Ned, finally dragging your eyes away from Peter’s torso, “Apparently that’s who you’re kissing in the photo, the famous Disney star,” Ned shrugs and turns the phone screen to you.

You chuckled, shaking your head, “No way, I didn’t even know he was gay or bisexual, I’ve never met him either,” you shrugged.

Peter nudged Ned, taking his phone back, “I told you. I told him,” Peter nods at you and sits on the edge beside you with a smile, which you return.

Ned walks off, Mj and yourself watching him as he grabs a doughnut floaty and throws it into the pool, you lightly chuckle and watch as Ned jumps in and tries to get on it. After a few short minutes, he successfully gets on, lounging as the floaty floats in the middle of the pool, slowly spinning.

“Definition of relaxation,” Peter mutters and gets up, walking off to the storage room to find another floaty to join his best friend, “a lot of fruit ones!” Peter calls out, coming out with an Iron Man floaty armchair, you laughed loudly with the others as Peter gently settles it onto the water and gets on with as much gentleness as possible.

You watch as he uses his hand to steer towards Ned, kicking his legs as he makes the chair go backwards before getting a safe distance to swivel it around to face his friend. You can slightly hear their conversation, light chatter as they float in the pool, chuckling at stupid jokes. A part of you was still shaken up over Peter, you had to admit. You didn’t expect him to be so in shape, he looked healthy, obviously but he was smaller than you (like most) and looked just lean.

If people, girls, knew what was underneath he’d have a fanbase. A girlfriend, that was for sure. Yet, he’s keeping it hidden, what for? You don’t get like that from just going to the gym every couple months, it seemed whenever you had Peter Parker figured out he’d surprise you.

“Want to keep checking out Peter or actually find our own floaties to join in  their conversation?” Mj’s voice right next to your ear, snapping your eyes hurriedly away from Peter and to hers in mild shock, “don’t worry he didn’t notice, thankfully. You looked so creepy though,” she chuckled as she nudged you.

You shake your head quickly, “No, I wasn’t- Mj, c’mon… no way,” you scoffed and she all but raised an eyebrow and you sighed, “Just… he’s a nerd, how does a nerd look like that?” you whisper asked the girl before you.

Mj only shrugged, “He does well in gym class, must be a hobby or something,” she stands up, grabbing your arm and hustling you towards the storage room also. “So, were you only wondering how Peter looks like that or was you actually checking him out?”

You chuckled as you looked through the floats, “listen, Peter is nice and incredibly sweet, I’ll give him that. But if I had a type, which I don’t, he doesn’t exactly fill it. Plus, he’s not that bad looking I’m allowed to look that doesn’t mean I like him.”

“Who are convincing here me or you?” Mj grabbed a standard rectangle pink floaty and walked out, giving you a lasting glance before disappearing back to the pool.

You stand stunned to the spot by her question. You could hardly believe that Mj thought you actually liked Peter, weren’t you allowed to check out guys. Sure it was Peter, but he has a nice body and he was just there. It’s not like it means anything, right?

“Shit!” You hiss, “I am convincing myself,” you mutter walking out with a permanent frown on your face, it quickly fades when Mj pushes Peter out of his chair and into the water.

You laugh as you sit back down on the pool edge, Mj gives you a head tilt before smiling and turning back to Ned, who is talking about their Chemistry homework that’s due in tomorrow morning. You’d have to walk back in tomorrow after running out. A part of you hoped the hysteria would have died down, no one would care enough to stare or talk.

“You okay?” A soft voice asks, your eyes drift to Peter’s who is in the pool, beside you and resting his arms on the pool edge and chin on top of them, you nod once but don’t say anything, “You sure? I know we didn’t… get off on the right foot, but you can talk to me,” Peter stumbles slightly and smiles, nodding in an affirmation that he meant it.

His dark hair was a mess due to the water, it was sticking up in places and curling in others, yet he still looked… good. Peter’s face was adorably sincere in a way that you could spill all your inner demons and feel comfortable in knowing he’d keep them with him. Paired with his, uncharacteristically, hot body that was a dangerous combo; soft nerd but hot bod, that spelt disaster.

“Just thinking about tomorrow, gotta go back in and face everyone,” you shrugged and he nodded, “I’ve done all I can to make it easier for myself but still nervous.” You glance back down, smiling lightly for a moment, “Mj will beat anyone up who says shit, so I don’t know why I’m nervous.”

Peter chuckled, nodding along with you, “Yeah, she definitely will. I can walk in with you if you’d like?” you grinned and nodded, Peter smiled, “I’ll make sure to get picked up instead of the bus then,” he mutter, mostly to himself but you heard the little note.

“Oh, hey, that guy Spider-Man was there on Friday,” You nudge, Peter’s head perks up, “He showed up when I was sat on the edge of the building, he actually phoned Tony to tell him where I was, apparently he’s a friend of yours?”

Peter licks his lips lightly like he’s trying to think of the right words, “Yeah, sorta. We’ve talked due to my internship, he’s a cool guy,” Peter shrugged and you nod once.

“Well, whenever you bump into him again, can you tell him thank you? He really helped that day, honestly, don’t think I would’ve gone home if he didn’t give me that little encouragement.”

Peter nods, smiling widely and that makes you chuckle, he quickly settles down. “Yeah, sure, you’ve got it. I mean, that’s his job, you know. He doesn’t expect a thank you, I’m sure he’ll appreciate it though,” he continues to grin to himself as you shrug, watching your own feet in the water.

“Yeah, but he deserves to be thanked,” you mutter quietly, only Peter hears it, he opens and closes his mouth before remaining silent and resting his cheek against his arms. Face turned towards you, watching you as you both relax into a comfortable silence with one another.

## MONDAY MORNING

“I can’t do it,” You nervously repeat, “I can’t, I’m sorry, but no. Everyone is going to look at me, oh god- they know it’s me, look they’re all watching,” you duck under the window, hands shaking as you sit in the car.

Peter just sighs from beside you, looking out the tinted windows to no one even giving the car a second glance. He remains in silence as he watches you, you’re on the floor of the car, hands shaking and breathing escalated. He scoots to the middle seat, placing a gentle hand on your shoulder, to which you tense at the contact.

“Y/N, you’re going to be fine, I promise.” Peter says soothingly, “You don’t have to but I’ll be here, with you, to walk down the school’s halls.”

Your breathing starts to slow, you turn and look up at Peter, he offers a small smile, giving a little nod to prove he won’t leave your side; unless requested. You exhale softly, grabbing your bag and a hand shakily opening the car door and pushing it open.

People were still getting off school buses, everyone talking loudly and to one another. People riding on bikes go past, you hold the strap to your grey messenger bag tightly, like a lifeline in a sense. You were on high alert; waiting for the shouting of abuse like you heard happens, waiting for people to mutter and point. Yet, nothing happened, everyone just walked into the school or talked in small groups beside the entrance.

Peter appeared by your side, pulling his backpack on and giving you an encouraging smile. He began walking first, looking over his shoulder to make sure you were following, to his delight you were. In fact, you were glued to his back, a hand was even subtly holding onto his bag too. It was like you were trying to hide behind him, use him as a sort of shield, even though he was smaller than you but if it meant you felt safe.

Walking up to the stairs of the school was daunting, you mostly kept your head down. Peter led you inside, glancing over his shoulder as you looked around. Met with the same stares you had on your first day here, you gulped lightly and turn to see Peter still smiling and leading you to your locker. Ned and Mj stood waiting for you, happy smiles and both waving at you.

You relaxed fully when stood beside them, opening your now clean locker and getting everything you need before turning to see Mj just looking at you, “told you, hardly anyone cares now.”

“I was within my right to be nervous,” you mutter and she just chuckles, “thank you for being beside me, I appreciate it.” She shrugs one shoulder, her jacket falling off of one shoulder.

**Peter p.o.v**

“Yo, Y/N, are you writing song lyrics?” Ned asked excitedly as he and Peter sit down for lunch, the usual table they share with Mj, now you too.

Peter peaks over the table to where you are sat, notebook out in front of you and lunch placed off to the side. Mj sat a chair down, her feet propped up on the empty chair space between you. Lyrics did seem to be what you are writing, your handwriting was a little messy but tangible enough to read.

You smile, “I’m in a band actually, but I have been writing my own stuff, hoping the band would play some actually but we do a lot of covers.” You give a slight shrug, smiling as you explain the people in the band with you, all males.

Peters’ eyes remained on the notebook in front of you, he bites his bottom lip gently. “Hey- um can we see what you have so far? If that’s okay!”

You look hesitant for a second, obviously, you haven’t shown a lot of people your lyrics. Peter gives the sweetest smile he can muster to you, Ned also nodding along because he wanted to see the music too. You slowly push the notebook to them, Peter grabbing it and moving it between them both. His eyes skimming over the words.

The one on display was obviously a love song of sorts, the use of some words and the placement made it seem like it was about someone, a guy. You talked of their dark eyes, mysterious tendencies and soft smile. Peter frowned, you had never mentioned anyone that you could potentially like to him. Yet, here you are, writing songs about this guy. Who even is he?

Peter quickly, subtly glances around the school’s cafeteria, trying to figure out from the crowd if it was anyone here. You hadn’t talked to anyone else, what if it’s someone from your band? That’d make sense, you must spend a lot of time with them, so it must be one of those guys.

“This is really cool,” Ned smiles softly.

“Who is it about?” Peter questioned instantly, glancing up quickly as you frowned in confusion, “I just mean, sounds like you’re writing this for someone,” he tries to recover smoothly.

Peter flushed with embarrassment as you look at Mj for a slight moment, he felt stupid for prying. But also like he was within his right, he just felt weird. A weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, an ache in the middle of his chest.

“Just a guy,” you shrugged lazily and pull the notebook back to yourself, giving a small smile to Peter as you do, “I don’t think it’ll amount to anything but I got inspired, that’s all.”

Peter instantly felt a little at ease with that explanation but the deep ache, the deep dread was there, lingering in the background. Peter just didn’t know why his Spidey senses usually helped in figuring out what is wrong. Yet, there was no reason for this feeling he has right now.

He hadn’t experienced this before, it felt uncommon to him. Peter watched as you bowed your head, adding little notes and crossing out a few words to the song. This couldn’t… this isn’t jealousy. He has nothing to be jealous over, you’re just inspired by some guy… some guy… that isn’t him.


	9. The Silent Treatment... Till Nightfall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader basically goes to a party. Gets drunk. Ends up calling Peter about his "crush" on a guy.

[Originally posted by parkersstark](https://tmblr.co/ZdIBAa2ZPSajJ)

Tony had finally got you a new phone, although you refused to go on the internet, it felt good to be able to text people. Instantly you got Mj’s, Ned’s and Peter’s number, adding them all to a group chat. Talking almost every day in that one chat, Mj was a fond gif user and mostly replied in gifs. Ned LOVES emojis, every text had a couple but it was sweet.

Peter seemed more confident over text, staying stuff he wouldn’t say in person, it didn’t surprise you. He’s naturally shy and reserved, it still shone through in certain texts but he had a layer of confidence over text. A brashness that you had only seen when you were at his apartment unannounced. He text you stuff that he thought you’d like, like a meme or a photo he found, only to you not in the group chat. He text you when it was late and he was up; finishing homework you expected.

It was like there was no boundary to your friendship with Peter over text, you both could say whatever and it be okay. Yet, in person, there was this line that Peter didn’t cross and you wondered why he was holding back. Why he was different around you in person, it bugged and confused you.

A part of you thought that he liked you, maybe he was different in person because he didn’t know how to act on his feelings. Seemed too far-fetched, even if Peter is bisexual he wouldn’t like you… would he? No, he wouldn’t. You’re just setting yourself up for major disappointment and heartbreak. Besides, did you really want to get involved with your dads’ intern? No way, things could easily get messy and you had only just gotten Peter as a friend.

Best to just repress feelings. Bury those away in a box and forget them.

That’s exactly what you did, well sort of. You actually ended up ignoring Peter again, rather simple since Peter seemed distracted with other things anyway. He was always looking at the time in lessons, sneaking off after school rather than walk or get lift home. You knew it wasn’t for his internship, in fact, he hadn’t even been at the base or with Tony, so his absence only made it easier for you to forget about your feelings.

Till the early hours of the morning when he’d text you. Asking if you’re okay, what you’re doing up so late, which only sparked the response of ‘i could ask you the same thing’. Every day the same routine between you both; you ignore him, he doesn’t even realise he’s being ignored, him acting suspicious and leaving, then randomly texting you at one in the morning and you replying till the sun came up.

It’s been going on for days, you’re tired but you just couldn’t help yourself. Peter had a way of pulling you back in even when you didn’t want to, yet he couldn’t seem to notice the effect he has on you or maybe he does, that’s why he does it.

“Hey, Y/N,” A voice startles you at your locker, glancing up and meeting eyes with a tall, blue-eyed boy. You frown because you know him but can’t place his name, “It’s Zander Carlson? We have Calculus together, you sit in front of me actually.”

You let out a sigh of a chuckle, nodding, “Yeah, sorry. I’ve been… not noticing others around me,” you shove the books you needed quickly in your bag and extend a hand, he grins as he shakes your hand, “anything I can do for you?” You raised an eyebrow.

Realisation flashes across Zander’ face and he quickly pulls his hand away, nervous chuckle bubbling out of him, “Right-Um, no. Well, I guess, I just wanted to formally introduce myself to you. I know you had an unpleasant beginning and with the whole media thing, I don’t know, I should’ve really thought out what I was going to say,” he chuckled to himself and drifted off.

“Nah, it’s fine,” You shut your locker and see Mj, Ned, and Peter all watching you from Mj’s locker. “It was great meeting you, you don’t need to plan a speech.” Attempting to walk around him but he quickly grabs your attention again.

“Actually I wanted to invite you to a party. Me and my sister, Daisy she’s cheer captain, are throwing one because our parents are going out of town and we figured we’d extend an invite to you,” he smiled.

That’s when it hit you. Of course, you knew him, he’s the one that has all the girls crowded around him and his sister was another who winked in your direction. Quite the pair but you don’t know them enough to judge based on small impressions.

“Think about it? I’ll add you to the facebook event,” he throws a wink and leaves, leaving you more than confused by that interaction than normal.

You walk over to your friends, giving a small smile as throw an arm over Mj’s shoulders casually, grinning when she rolls her eyes at you. You turn to listen to Ned who was complaining about his little sister, you chuckled lightly at Ned’s choice of words, despite being annoyed with her he still talked highly of her.

“What did Zander want?” Peter interrupted, shooting a glance to Zander who was at the end of the corridor amongst his friends, all laughing and joking with one another, you shrugged, “just weird.”

“He invited me to his and Daisy’s party,” Ned widen his eyes, Mj scoffed slightly at that, shrugging your arm off her shoulders, “what? It’s just a party, I don’t even know if I’m going to go.”

Mj rolled her eyes, “Zander and Daisy are the rudest people ever, they only invited you because of your status, Y/N.” You frown at that, narrowing your eyes at her.

“And we’re friends why exactly?” You shot back that made Mj retreat, stepping back and giving you a look of absolute disdain, “you stand there and say it about them like you could be doing any different!”

It’s silent between the four of you, Ned looking around awkwardly and Peter just frowning at you, Mj was trying to form a sentence back to you. You felt bad for saying it, but you just hated that people said that. That anyone is only hanging with you for your name, for the money your family has.

“There’s no need-” Peter began but you shook your head, he stopped as you rolled your eyes at him, “What?”

“It’s just you ignore me, you leave and act suspicious throughout the day, where have you been these past few days Peter? Hmm, cause no one else seems to know,” Peter shuts his mouth, looking at the ground and shifting nervously, “We don’t speak during the day but some guy wants me to hang and you don’t like it, what’s up?” He doesn’t say anything and you sigh as the bell rings, “let off again, speak later.”

You walk away but Mj follows because you have the next class together, it’s silent between you both but you still link arms with her. It had become a thing for you to be close, you liked Mj and you never wanted to hurt her because she was the first one to treat like normal. To not care about you, at all. Although you can’t think of how to word your apology to her, you glance her way as you step into class, following behind her to your seats.

“Mj,” you say softly but she doesn’t glance up, “I’m sorry for my snap at you, you were the first person here to treat me normally. Just… all Zander did was ask me to a party, he’s invited nearly everyone, right?” Mj shakes her head, lifting it to look at you.

“Only the elite go to Carlson’s parties, myself, Ned, and Peter have never been invited to their parties,” she sighed lightly, “But go to it, don’t not go because of us. We’re fine, I know the whole thing with Peter has been pissing you off lately.” You nod, biting your bottom lip, “And, no, I do not know where Peter has been going.” You chuckled, nodding and nudging her lightly, causing her to chuckle along with you.

“Y/N!” A voice exclaims as you enter the luxurious house, “You actually came?” Zander smiles, a red solo cup in his hand and he stumbles through the crowd towards you, “Guys Stark has arrived!” He yells over the thumping club music, people cheer; you didn’t recognise half the faces but smiled awkwardly at them, chuckling as Zander stumbled and threw an arm over your shoulders, “I have some people for you to meet!”

You just nodded, allowing Zander to lead you through the crowd. Pointing people out, some you remember from school, others were friends of Daisy’s but a lot of them seem older. Far much older. It explains how the alcohol got here, all the beers lined up on the table and other various gins, plus vodkas… a lot of alcohol, if only you actually drank but you don’t.

“That’s most of the good ones, the rest are kinda friends of people we invited that always happens,” Zander rolled his blue eyes, “want something to drink?” You shake your head, “Not much of a drinker? That’s fine, Daisy doesn’t drink either but she just likes the vibe of things.”

You ended up staying beside Zander most of the time, allowing him to introduce you to people. You danced with his sister, who you found out is his twin sister.

“Why did you invite me?” You asked Zander with a slight frown, grabbing yourself a Fanta _(don’t judge, my fav)_ , Zander looks at you with a frown. He had started slowing down on the drink, despite it being almost one in the morning and the party didn’t seem to be slowing, “just Peter and Mj seemed… concerned, I guess with the intentions.”

Zander chuckled, “Of course, I’ve known Parker for a few years.” You nodded with a slight frown, “I know it seems like I invited you because you’re Iron Man’s son and not entirely wrong,” you nodded at his honesty, “But I just figured we could be mates, you know? We have similar upbringings, I mean I know you as a Stark but I invited you just to get to know you better.”

“Oi! You two,” Daisy smirked standing in the kitchen doorway, “we’re all playing beer pong, we need another pair,” she grinned and battered her eyelashes before skipping in and taking your hand, pulling you out of the kitchen. “It’s just beer, you’ll be fine.”

What started as one game turned into a rematch, turned into other people wanting to go against you and Daisy, Zander off to the side keeping the points. The more you won the drunker you got, despite winning you had a few matches which resulted in a lot of beers being downed from red solo cups. By the time all the matches were over you were hanging by a thread, hair a mess and stinking of alcohol, laughing at everything everyone said.

In fact, you don’t even remember when Zander took your phone to call someone to pick you up. You don’t remember Pepper picking you up at five in the morning, you don’t remember throwing up all over the back of the car or getting home and falling face first on the floor instead of your bed.

Which led to you waking up with a sickening headache, the drumming inside of your head was loud and painful, you felt sick to your stomach. Your mouth felt dry and bitter, overall you felt like shit. The buzzing of your phone made you groan in annoyance, you squint your eyes open, even with the blinds drawn and no lights on it still felt too bright.

Grabbing your phone you unlocked it, frowning at all the text notifications you had this morning… well, afternoon. It was two in the afternoon, you had a glass of water beside you and some painkillers. Pepper had left a note explaining, in vivid detail what happened, how you had ruined her car and made a mess pretty much everywhere. Embarrassing is an understatement.

You had a few texts from Mj asking how the party went then proceeding to text you photos from the party, all from Facebook. You told her how the hangover you have is the worst, she only responded with a gif of a cat; that made you laugh a little. You had a few texts from Zander apologising for the fact Daisy had roped you into a game of beer pong, you dismissed it telling him it was okay. The rest of the notifications were from Peter, which confused you slightly.

Messages of; “Are you okay?” “What happened?” “I’m coming over!” the last one sent over twenty minutes ago, you guessed he must be here now.

That proved to be right since Peter threw open your door, you raised your eyebrows at the boy which only made him confused. You chuckled at his expression before you fell back on your bed, watching as he stood confused in your doorway.

“What-I don’t understand!” Is all he muttered out.

You nodded, chuckling lightly, “Same, Peter.” You smiled, “I’ve only just woke up, by the way. So, excuse me for being confused on your arrival,” He sighed and nodded, “Went to that party last night and got roped into beer pong, I’ve never touched alcohol so, it’s  _reallly_  hitting me now.”

He laughed stepping forward and sitting on the end of your bed, there was a bit of awkward silence between you both. Peter nodding slowly, unable to make eye contact with you for some reason. You coughed awkwardly as you sat up against your headboard, looking around your room for something to say or do.

“I wanted to apologise for how I’ve been acting,” Peter said softly, still not making eye contact, “I know I’ve been all over the place lately, I don’t really have an explanation for it.” You nodded and he smiled at you, “so who is the guy you like?”

That question threw you off, you double take at him and frown. Peter frowned back at you, “you phoned me last night, was talking about this really cute guy that you like and how you aren’t sure how to ask him out or if he is gay,” your heart started to pick up in speed, you had called Peter talking about him, you could’ve almost told him your feelings and ruined your friendship.

“Must’ve been my drunk self, I don’t remember talking to you,” you chuckled nervously and Peter nodding lightly.

Peter sighed, “You seemed pretty into him though.”

You shrugged, “Trust me, I don’t have a crush on anyone. Hey, wanna play some video games? Well, you play and I watch, possibly fall asleep because I am not functioning right.”

Peter chuckled and nodded, “Sure, C'mon, I’ll help you walk too.” You chuckled, flipping him off but actually leaning on him as you both walked down the hallway, Peter making small sassy comments on your stumbling and lack of balance.


	10. Spider-Man? Peter-Man!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader realises that Peter has a hidden secret. 
> 
> I also added drunk reader because a lot of people from Tumblr wanted an interaction of Tony and reader from the last chapter, so I added it in to the beginning!

[Originally posted by hourtohour-simontoblue](https://tmblr.co/ZsM-La2YKVuzS)

(Hi, I’ve been laughing at Nick’s lil’ leg kick for ten minutes!!)

_***Flashback to the drunk reader*** _

**Tony’s POV**

“Okay, where is he?” Tony loudly asks when entering the living room, glancing at Pepper who is sat on the plush cream sofa, cleaning her shoes with a disgruntled look, “what happened?”

Pepper only points to across the room where you have passed out on the floor, hair a mess, jacket half off and you seem to be snoring. Tony heavily sighs whilst still looking at you, you had told him you were going to a house party but he didn’t think you’d drink alcohol there. He should’ve known better.

Tony walks over to you, lightly shaking one of your shoulders but you still don’t wake up. He lifts one of your arms to around his neck, heaving you upwards till you’re standing and groggily open both eyes, squinting around the room till they land Tony.

“Whaddup’?” Is all you muster, breath stinking of whatever alcohol you had but a goofy smile pulling at your lips: admittedly it makes Tony chuckle. “I don’t feel so good,” you mutter and hold your stomach.

Tony rolls his eyes, “Well, judging by how drunk you are, I’d say you’ll have a bad hangover tomorrow morning kid.” You scoff, repeatedly telling Tony that you are  _NOT_  drunk! “Yeah, sure.”

He slowly helps you climb the stairs to your quarters you’re babbling on about random stuff and people you talked to all night. Tony’s only concern is getting you to bed, making sure you won’t drown in your own vomit in your sleep.

“Do you think Peter likes me?” You ask when Tony opens your door, he glances at you but you’re watching your own feet… your left shoe is missing. What happened to your shoe? “I think he doesn’t like me.” You answer the question yourself.

Tony frowns, “Peter doesn’t hate anyone, he loves hanging out with you,” He sits you on the edge of your bed before walking into your en-suite.

“Nooo, I mean, like-like me,” you say in a matter-of-fact tone back, trying to get the rest of your jacket off but struggling with the sleeve.

Tony stops in the doorway of your bathroom, a glass of water in hand and watching you struggle till you eventually get the jacket off with a victory chuckle. You like Peter? As in have a crush on him? You always call him a nerd, in fact, he knew that you didn’t like Peter to begin with, so what changed?

Unless you’ve always liked Peter but never admitted it to yourself. Maybe that’s why you punched that guy for him, maybe that’s why you went to Peter’s late one night; it all starts adding up in Tony’s mind and he just softly smiles at you.

“So, you like-like Peter, huh?” He sets the glass down and helps you untie the other shoe, you do a little shrug and actually look vulnerable for a moment. You look like a child that parent has found out about their secret stash of candy, “it’s okay if you do, I don’t mind. Peter is a good kid, one of the best,” Tony tells you but tries not to push you for answers.

You nod slowly, “Doesn’t matter if I did anyway, he won’t like me back,” Tony frowns, “He’s  _wayyyy_ too smart for me and adorable, he can find better!”

Tony scoffs, “There’s no one better than a Stark, trust me.” You smile slightly at that, “He’d be the biggest idiot if he didn’t like you. How intelligent you are doesn’t come into play when you like someone; it’s how they make you feel, who they make you want to become.” Tony glances up only to find you have fallen asleep, he exhales softly and moves your body so you’re comfortable before pulling a blanket over your body.

“You’re a good dad, Tony.” Pepper whispers from the doorway, “he’s lucky to have you looking out for him.”

“I try to be,” He mutters out before turning the light off in your room and closing the door and smiling at Pepper, “but I’m the lucky one.”

**_*Now*_ **

**Peter’s POV**

Peter walked into the school’s library, scanning the room until he sees his friends sat in the back. Quickly walking up and setting his backpack down, grabbing the attention of Ned and Mj instantly, both frowning at the lack of Y/N beside him.

“We have to be quick before Y/N discovers we’re all late for lunch,” He whispers and sits down, looking between them both, “this is top secret, you can’t tell Y/N, so if you can’t do that then leave now.” He mostly looks at Mj, your trusted best friend since arriving here-not that either of you two would admit that.

Mj shrugs, “I’ll decide that when I know what it is,” Peter rolls his eyes, “there are some things that you can’t keep from people, but spill.” She sets her book aside, resting her elbows on the table.

Peter chews on his bottom lip nervously, suddenly very aware of what he is about to say. He had no idea how to word it, plus he didn’t know how either Ned or Mj would take this. They accepted you so well, so he shouldn’t worry too much but the doubt was still in his mind.

“Umm-well, I like… Y/N,” he mumbles.

“YOU LIKE-“ Peter throws a hand over Ned’s mouth, a few people look over from their books or computers, the librarian giving a glare to their table. Peter slowly takes his hand away, Ned breathing heavily but smiling, “You like Y/N?” He whispers asks, Peter nods cautiously, “why were you so nervous to tell us?” Peter shrugs, “You’re my best friend, no matter what, you know that. I’m your guy in the chair.” Peter gives a ‘shut up’ look to Ned.

“You’re his what?” Mj asks with a frown, although doesn’t wait long enough for an answer before her eyes are cast to Peter, “So, why are you telling us for? We’re not Y/N!”

Peter sighs, fingers tapping the hardwood of the table, “Well… I just- I don’t want to be rejected by him or make things weird, plus he’s Tony’s son and I kinda work for him, it’s weird right- to date your boss’s son?”

Mj shrugged with one shoulder, “Is him being Tony’s son something you can’t get past? Is it something that you think about every time you’re with him?” Peter shakes his head, “then you have your answer.” She adds a slight smirk and picks up her book again, only standing up with it, “meet you losers in the cafeteria, Y/N is waiting for us,” she leaves without another glance.

“Go for it, Peter!” Ned nudges him excitedly.

***Normal POV***

“Where have you been?” You asked when Mj sat down, she only shrugged before opening her milk and sipping it and reading her book, you roll your eyes at her, “you two are late as well.” You call Ned and Peter.

“Had to go to my locker,” Peter sets his lunch down with a smile, sitting beside you. “Thanks for saving our seats,” he chuckles as you roll your eyes.

“Almost let Flash sit with me actually, he’s my replacement.” The look of disgust Peter gives you makes you laugh loudly, nudging him before looking to see both Ned and Mj watching you both, “what?” Mj just plainly looks back to her book and Ned just grins and eats his lunch in silence.

You open your Spanish textbook, silently revising the few pages because of the pop-quiz in your next class. Ned was talking about the Decathlon Team meeting after school, Mj and Peter chiming in randomly.

“Y/N, you should join,” Ned suddenly pulls you out of your studying, you raised an eyebrow at him, “we’d all be able to hang out more after school.” You smiled at his pure intentions with that.

You chuckled slightly, “I’m a Stark but, unfortunately, I didn’t obtain the genius.” You smiled, “thanks, I love that you want to hang out with me more.” Ned shrugs, smiling brightly, “I’m actually going to attend the after-school art club.”

“None of us is in that club,” Peter points out, eyebrows furrowing and looking at you.

You nodded, “Zander is in that club and recommended it to me,” Pete’s jaw clenched, an annoyed look flashing across his face before he starts eating again, “I know you love me Pete-“ Peter chokes on his sandwich-“But you guys can’t have me all to yourselves, Zander is my friend too, can you understand that?”

Peter’s coughing dies down, he nods once as he drinks his juice, “yeah… sorry, just like Ned said, would be cool to hang out in the same club.” He shrugged, still coughing lightly.

“What so you can talk about Spider-Man some more?” You rolled your eyes, he nodded with a smile, “you’re so obsessed with that guy, it’s kinda creepy.”

Peter rolled his eyes at you, “He’s cool and funny, you’d like him if you actually talked to him.”

You didn’t bother responding, only because you had to put with Peter talking about Spider-Man last weekend, and the entire week so far. You actually didn’t mind Spider-Man ever since he sat with you on the roof, he seemed nice enough and not too bad, as you had thought previously. Plus, admittedly, there was something oddly attractive about him. You couldn’t see his face but it was mysterious: something very intriguing about that.

Since Peter’s obsession with him, you had started to dislike the guy. You couldn’t help it, the way he complimented the masked hero, how his face lights up when mentioning him and how genuinely interested he seemed in him. Any positive thoughts you had of the superhero was overrun by how jealous you become when Peter talks about him. Of course, Peter would find a superhero attractive, what’s not to love about them? They risk their lives for people, it’s hot.

You can’t compete with that type of competition. Not even with your last name could you compare to such a person.

“So, take it you won’t be around later for the internship-thingy?” You sighed, trying to come across as nonchalant about his answer. Head resting in your hand as your eyes skimmed over the many Spanish words, yet your brain wasn’t retaining any of them.

Peter didn’t answer for a few seconds, “I will be, just a little later than usual.”

“What do you even do during the internship?” You lifted your head slightly and watch Peter, who is stuffing his mouth with flaming hot Cheetos, you chuckle lightly at the sight of him.

He shrugs casually. “Stuff you’d find boring,” you nod in agreement with that answer before going back to studying.

“Y/N!” You look over the back of the sofa to see Spider-Man walking towards you, lifting a hand and waving it at you, you awkwardly do the same back to him. “How are you?”

You shrugged slightly, looking back at the TV in front of you, “I’m good just waiting for Happy to get back here with my food,” you smile as he walks around and sits next to you-  _yet, he still doesn’t remove the mask_.

There’s a brief moment of silence between you both. The tv playing the movie you had settled on twenty minutes ago, you glance over at him and see he’s watching the movie too… mask still on. Does Peter know who and what Spider-Man looks like? Is that why he always talks about him? It’s the only logical explanation there is.

He must be really good looking under that mask because he’s able to captivate Peter so effortlessly. The bitterness started to rise again, the jealousy over a stupid masked hero. You had no right or claim to Peter, heck you told him to stay away when you first met him. Yet, his stupid face had to become adorable to you. Totally unfair.

“So, I was wondering-well, hoping actually, if you maybe wanted to go out sometime… with me, like a date?” The question is rambled and rushed, he stuttered also but you still heard every word clearly.

Your eyes snap to Spider-Man who is already looking at you and waiting for an answer from you. How are you meant to answer that? He does know that Peter has a crush on him, right? They’re meant to be friends or something.

“That’s really… sweet,” You can’t date a superhero, a masked one at that. You have no idea who this guy is, although blind dating is a thing, could you date a superhero? “…Just… I like someone else and normally that wouldn’t affect me but… I reallly like them. It wouldn’t be fair for you if I accepted that invitation,” you can tell he’s upset with the rejection. The slowly nodding, head cast downwards is all the indication you need that he’s torn up.

He chuckles awkwardly, “Well, I hope it works out between you and the other guy, he’s very lucky.”

“I wish. He actually likes someone else, it’s kinda ironic that you’d ask me actually,” He looks at you, the white eyes of the mask appear to frown, “well, he actually likes you. He talks about you all the time, kinda annoying actually. I shouldn’t tell you because you know him, but it’s Peter.”

Spider-Man nods slowly, “So, you like Peter but Peter likes me? Is that what you’re saying?” You nod once, shrugging with one shoulder, “I have something that can clear this all up-” before he can finish Friday is calling him to the lab, “I’ll be right back and we can sort this.” He gets up and leaves without another word, leaving you a little more than confused by that.

After twenty minutes of being alone, Happy arrives with your dinner, Chinese takeaway for you, Tony and Peter to have whenever Parker arrives that is.

“I’ll go get Tony,” you stand up and start to walk to the lab, Happy about to stop you, “I can knock on the door, Happy. I won’t go in, I am forbidden, I know!” you roll your eyes at him before actually leaving the room.

You stand knocking on the door to the labs for a good two minutes, no one answers, not even Friday. Maybe they all died down there, likely outcome; especially since you do hear the odd explosion sometimes. You knock twice more before trying the handle and it clicks open.

“Tony?” You call as you descend down the staircase to the labs where workbenches, tools and the faithful robots, ‘Dum-E’ and ‘U’ are in the corner. “Tony?” You call again.

“What’s up kiddo?” You look to your left and see Tony hunched over a workbench, Spider-Man blueprints on screens behind and in front of him, one called ‘web-fluid’ which sounds questionable.

What makes you frown is the guy standing next to him, not just anyone, Peter Parker. Not only _just_  Peter Parker, it’s Peter Parker in the Spider-Man suit. Who looks just as surprised as you do, in fact, he looks guilty. You feel an overwhelming amount of emotions rush over you; anger, betrayal, embarrassment, and more anger.

He had lied to you! You sat and told him your feelings and he was Spider-Man all along, you had admitted to liking Peter Parker to Peter Parker, and he didn’t say a single word about it. Does he think you’re so much of an idiot that you’d never find out?

Tony looks up when you hadn’t spoken, his eyes see your frowning face and glare aimed directly at the stuttering and nervous Peter Parker. “Y/N, we can explain-” is all he is able to get out before you interrupt him and start yelling, mostly at Peter.


	11. Not a Damsel

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader gets kidnapped. So, if that's something that is triggering to you, then please read with caution!

[Originally posted by tylerjosephs](https://tmblr.co/Zc0Lwv2YRc0Nj)

“What the fuck?” You yell, eyes blurring with frustrated tears, although you don’t let them fall, “Seriously? So, all this time you’ve been Spider-Man, all those times we’ve talked and you’ve been him?” Peter nods once, head lowering and hands toying with the mask of his suit. **  
**

“I’m sure there’s a logical explanation he never told you,” Tony tries to defuse the situation, you cross your arms and look pointedly at Peter, tapping your foot to indicate your impatience. “Right, Peter? You had a reason,” Tony nudges him.

Peter lifts his gaze to Tony then to you, he opens and closes his mouth but nothing seems to come out. He sighs silently, eyebrows furrowing like he is having a difficult time forming a coherent sentence or even rationalising his thinking. Your jaw clenches the longer he takes, the anger rising up like bile in your throat, threatening to spill out as venomous words: that you wouldn’t mean and later regret.

“I can’t believe you’d side with him,” You shake your head at Tony, “No, actually, you know what? I can believe it. Of course, you would, it’s obvious you would. You fucking superheroes are despicable,” you spit harshly, Tony scoffs, “No it’s true. I pour my feelings out under the illusion it’s just some guy, but no, it’s Peter Parker. You all just expect me to find this, okay, to just forget he’s made me look like an idiot. He let me believe he was someone else-”

“No, I think, you’re upset because now you have to face your emotions to someone.” Tony cuts you off, voice raised and stern, you snap your mouth shut, “Finally, someone has gotten you to admit something and you don’t like that now you’re vulnerable to someone, especially to someone you like.”

The lab is silent as you stare at Tony, Peter looks between you both nervously.

“You can’t blame Peter for keeping his identity a secret from you, Y/N, you’re being selfish with this,” Tony sighs and smiles slightly, “you both just need to sit down and talk this it out.”

You blink a couple times, raising an eyebrow at Tony, “I’m being selfish? So, being made to feel like an idiot is fine,” Tony sighs heavily, “You don’t get it and you never will because you’re Iron Man. The fact I was never meant to find out is the kicker.”

You don’t even spare Peter a second glance before turning and walking out, quickly wiping the angry tears from your eyes and cheeks. You felt foolish and stupid, Peter had just made you look like a complete idiot. You knew you acted erratically to the situation, but you couldn’t help it; Peter lied, he sat and let you tell your feelings, then he walked out and acted like he wasn’t that person.  

Maybe Tony is right. Feeling emotionally vulnerable is a part of it, especially to Peter. To a stranger with no face, it felt easier to admit your feelings, now knowing that stranger has a familiar face is scary… nauseating. How long was he going to lie, to pretend he wasn’t Spider-Man? How many conversations were you going to have before he finally admitted to it?

“Wait-Y/N, will you stop!” A hand grabs your forearm, spinning you to face Peter, “I’m sorry, I wanted- I was going to tell you, I really was, after I was done speaking with your dad, I swear.”

You shrug, already done with the conversation, “Just leave me alone, Peter.”

“But I just-“

“Fuck off, okay?” You snap, he flinches back at your words, instant regret fills you but you shrug it off, “I don’t want to hear that shit right now, so just fuck off.”

You turn on your heel and walk down the corridor, shoving your hands into your jacket pockets. Ignoring Happy’s calls to you, walking straight outside and taking deep breaths of the evenings’ fresh air. This is exactly the situation you didn’t want to get into, you just had to go fall for some guy- that happens to be a fucking superhero also, just fucking great.

A part of you wanted to go back and listen to Peter’s side but you needed time to think. Needed time to be alone, to let everything sink in and figure out what to do next. Admittedly, you’re still mad at him. The fact he lied to you, does Ned know he’s Spider-Man? Does Mj? Are you the only idiot that never got told!

The fact he just didn’t trust you to keep it a secret.

A black SUV parks in front of you, without thinking you grab the door and open it and slide yourself in hastily, “Upstate. To my mother’s.”

You slouch against the leather seats as the driver leaves the Avengers HQ, your eyes trained on the window and watching the scenery pass by. The trees turning into a freeway, cars all passing by and the evening sky casting a dim light across the world.

Peter is exactly what you didn’t want him to be; a superhero. All your life, since finding out Tony’s identity, you swore off superhero bullshit. Nothing good ever comes with them; you’re left wondering if they’ll ever come home and that type of worry can drive a person to madness, to sickness. Now the guy you like is exactly like Tony, the one person in your life that you try so hard to stray from.

You sighed heavily to yourself, the rush of extreme emotions finally leaving your body the more you watch the scenery pass by. You now realise how stubborn and irrational you acted towards Peter, pushing him away, and not listening to reason. You wouldn’t admit to acting out of anger right now, but later when you face Peter you’ll forgive him. You frown as the driver takes the wrong exit, leaving the freeway and going in the completely wrong direction to where your mother lives.

You look at the driver, one you hadn’t seen before, “Hey, buddy, you took the wrong exit back there.” He only looks at you through the mirror, eyes holding no emotion as they look at you before going back to the road, “Um- you know, we can just head back to the base, Tony might be worried, curfew and that.”

He doesn’t say anything in response, doesn’t even look at you as he makes twists and turns down dimly-lit roads, towards a place you didn’t know or recognise. The street lamps were getting few and fewer with each road, till you were in complete darkness. Your heart started hammering inside of your chest and sweat started to break out across your forehead.

Yet, this wasn’t your first rodeo of being kidnapped. This had happened twice before, only after Tony announced to being Iron Man; the first time was technically a hostage situation, yourself and your mother, held for ransom in a hotel room and the second time; you were taken from your school, by a group of men, it wasn’t that bad but it gave you… issues with Tony. Issues that were never resolved before you decided to permanently stay with your mother.

You pull out your phone typing a text, before he can notice, to Happy: “I’M BEING KIDNAPPED RIGHT NOW!!” You figured that’d get the message across pretty clearly.

The door of the SUV is pulled open, a man grabs ahold of your forearm and yanks you out of the car, you end of dropping your phone in the backseat. He’s only a few inches taller than you, the driver is actually decently smaller than you are. You’re dragged towards an abandoned warehouse, through the doors where three more men stand waiting.

They shove you into a chair, pulling your hands behind your back and tying your ankles together. You glance at every face in the cold warehouse, the harsh stares you receive back and silence is enough to make you question what they’re going to do with you.

You watch as they talk amongst themselves, whispering and muttering to each other, their hushed tones make it difficult for you to pick up on what they’re saying; maybe planning how to kill you, you don’t know but it’s possible. Two disperse from the conversation and walk up a metal staircase to an observation room, that overlooks the warehouse floor. You watch as the other three sit at a crate, pulling out cigarettes and shuffling a pack of cards before playing a quiet game of poker.

The warehouse has old machines that look as though they haven’t been used in years, dust and dirt covered everything. The only source of light was ones they had obviously set up, a few standing lamps dotted around to illuminate the areas. When you had been taken before there was always an agenda, they wanted something from Tony, so why are these guys taking you hostage?

The most likely reason is money. The Stark’s, in general, have a lot of it. Enough that Tony could retire today and  _still_  live the lavish lifestyle he does till he dies, that’s a fact. 

“So, how much?” You call out and catch the attention of the three men, “How much is my ransom? I assume you’re asking Stark for money anyway.”

All three of them look at each other, deciding whether to tell you or just ignore you, beats the option of wanting to kill you. One in a black v-neck looks at you, dark hair and beard, looks around Tony’s age too.

“We’re asking for a hundred-and-five-million,” you chuckle and nod, “What’s so funny?”

You shake your head, “Just Tony is a billionaire and you’re asking for millions.”

“We didn’t want to push our luck, you’re not exactly close to him, we didn’t know how much he’d be willing to pay for you,” He puffs out some smoke with a slight shrug.

A lump forms in your throat at that, it’s hard to swallow that type of truth. How much is Tony willing to pay to get you back? Would he even pay anything now? You got yourself into this mess by storming out, perhaps Tony and Peter just shrugged at Happy’s text and went back to whatever they were doing before you ruined their “bonding”.

“Don’t worry, if Stark isn’t willing to pay we’ll call your mother,” he chuckles with his friends, continuing their poker game.

“What if neither of them pays?” You ask, already knowing the answer to that question, it’s obvious.

Another one decides to answer, showing you his gun, “We kill you and send half your body to your mother and the other half to your father,” the nonchalant expression paired with him throwing his hand down, and subsequently winning the game, makes your blood run cold.

Time seemed to drag or maybe speed-up? You couldn’t be sure because you had no way to tell, but it felt slow. Each hand of the poker game seemed to last a lifetime, even their cigarettes seemed to never burn out. The evening became night, the moonlight reflecting through the windows and holes in the roof.  The two men that left earlier, one being the driver that brought you here, never returned from that room but you could see their silhouettes from the window to the observation room.

If they had phoned Tony he would’ve been here by now, wouldn’t he? Your text to Happy would’ve alerted them to this situation a few minutes before, so why hasn’t no one came and got you? Why hasn’t he paid up?

What if this is actually a trap for Tony? What if they actually don’t want money, they know that he’ll show up instead and just kill him. What if you’re about to watch the murder of your father because you were too dumb, too stubborn, to just turn back and accept Peter’s apology.

Or maybe… they don’t plan on keeping you alive at all. They get the money and kill you anyway, no matter the outcome, you die.

In the time of being tied up and listening to their poker game you’ve learnt their names; Marco, Marvin, and Erik. The two that disbanded earlier is, Des and Finch, Finch runs the kidnapping. So, one of these five men is going to kill you.

From where you’re sat you can see Marco’s and Erik’s cards in their hands, you can also see the door leading out of the warehouse. The wind blowing it open and closed with muffled bangs, the car you arrived in sits just outside too. Maybe you could escape somehow, run out and drive off in the car, only all three have guns and would likely shoot you without hesitation. You’d have to be smart if you wanted to get out.

“You should fold, he’s got more than you,” you say loudly to Marco, “Erik has a higher hand, you’re better off folding.”

He scoffs and loses the round. This happens two more times, you trying to help him win, him not listening to you and then losing his money. Erik seems to be enjoying your running commentary, laughing with Marvin whenever you tell him that Marco is losing.

“Will you shut the fuck up, huh?” Marco scowls in your direction, muttering curses in Italian- Well, you assume it’s curse words.

You shrug, “I’m bored. Judging by your low hand of seven, Erik will win or Marvin, but Erik’s hand of twenty-three seems good,” all three glances at one another and then their cards.

Marvin folds his cards. Erik smirks, chuckling as he throws a couple more dollars into the pile of cash that’s piled up. Marco falters for a second, considering your comments but scoffs and flips you off instead. There’s a pause before they both reveal their hands; you’re correct, as you have been for the last four games.

Marco yells in frustration as Erik pulls the money to him, chuckling heartily to himself and lighting up another cigarette. Marvin starts shuffling the cards, he pulls out his phone from his pocket, the screen illuminating his face for a second before he puts it away. Maybe you could escape and grab your phone, call Tony yourself and hide till he shows up to get you? Seems like a long shot but it could work.

“Told you,” you mutter under your breath.

Only Marco hears and throws his cards on the crate and stands up, walking over to you with a deathly glare and stomping his cigarette out. He walks around you, grabbing ahold of the back of your chair and pulling it against the floor, the scrapping of the chairs legs makes you cringe. The other two men laugh and wave as you’re dragged out of sight from the main hall of the warehouse.

He scrapes the chair down a dimly lit corridor, opening a door to a small office room that ceiling seems to be crumbling away and pulls your chair inside. A piece of the ceiling crumbles and slams down, concrete smoke puffing up from around it. You’re going to end up dying in this room if he doesn’t kill you, the ceiling will.

“Make any noise and I’ll cut your tongue out, got it?” He points a pocket knife at you,  you grimace and nod at his question, “Good. Hopefully, we’ll get our money before this roof falls on you, ay?” He chuckles darkly, stepping away and out of the room.

The slamming shut of the door makes pieces of the ceiling crumble and fall, missing you but dust falls and lands on your shoulders and hair. You let out a shaky sigh, the only light coming from the blinking bulb in the corridor, you feel even colder in this dark room. The silence makes it deafening to you, you’re able to hear your shaky breaths and pounding heart.

You’ve never wanted Tony more than right now. You wanted Iron Man to crash through the wall, to do something, anything to get you out and away.

“ _Fuck_ ,” you whisper to yourself, squeezing your eyes closed in the hopes it’ll be just a bad dream when you open them, “I just want to go home.”

The first time, in a long time, home meant Tony.

You slowly open your eyes, a shaky breath leaving your lips. You look around the room, hoping to find something to help you escape, only rubble and a discarded desk sits in the room. You begin to try and fight your restraints, trying to get your hands untied but the rope is tight, making your skin burn from the friction.

Out of your peripheral vision, you see something slowly lower down, something red is  _just_  dangling next to you. You slowly turn and are face-to-face with Spider-Man, there’s a moment of silence as you take in the fact it’s Peter that’s here to save you. Not Tony, but Peter is here instead. He’s dangling upside down via a piece of web, waiting for you to say something.

“What the-” Peter slaps a hand to your mouth, shushing you. You glare as he drops down, now standing and no longer silencing you, “What are you doing here?” You whisper and look away, out of stubbornness, when he pulls the mask off not wanting to look at his face.

“What do you think?” He asks in a sarcastic tone, “to save you.” He answers his own question, walking around you and untying the rope from your wrists, “Tony sent me ahead to get you out safely, the police will be showing up in a few minutes with him,” he informs as you untie your own ankles.

You watch as he walks to the door, pulling his mask on, yet you remain seated and cross your arms. You didn’t need him to save you  _ ~~(well, you do. But you’re too stubborn to let this happen, to just pretend you’re both okay now that he’s here)~~_ , you hear him sigh loudly and out of annoyance.

“I’m trying to save you, so I’d appreciate it if you actually got up and walked out with me,” He opens the door quietly but you still don’t get up, nor look in his direction. “Seriously? You’re doing this  _right now_?” Peter asked in a hushed, but angry tone.

You look at him, jaw clenched and arms crossed, you let out an exhale through your nose. “I’m not some damsel in distress,” you say in a matter-o-face tone.

“I didn’t say you were,” Peter argues back.

“I’m not a damsel in distress, Peter, I don’t need saving,” He frowns, gesturing to the fact you were tied up, “I’m not going to just skip out of here with you, gushing over how heroic you are because I’m still pissed off. I’d rather stay sat in this chair than get up and walk out with you,” you tell him with a sarcastic smirk. “I’ll wait for Tony, thank you.”

Peter sighs and mutters something to himself like he was talking to someone. He puffs out his chest in annoyance before turning to you, “So, you’re not getting off that chair?” You shake your head, “Fine. I can arrange for you to remain seated,” you frown as he walks over to you.


	12. We're Friends, Right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Reader and Peter HAVE another argument trying to get out. Peter ignores Reader, Mj reveals a secret. Reader goes and visits his little brother and then is confronted by Oliver, the horrible boyfriend to his mum. Ends with Reader and Peter making up and it’s very fluffy - Rosalie

[Originally posted by princes-jasmine](https://tmblr.co/Z7vNEn1sl8ir6)

_(When Grey Mitchell, from Jurassic World, is the kid from Iron Man 3!!!!!!! So, I’m officially shook! Peter Quill and that kid in JW, and their mum is Scott Lang’s ex-wife!!! Nick just needs to be in a Marvel movie tbh)_  

An unsettling feeling pitted in your stomach as Peter stalked over to you. Instead of saying anything, he grabbed the chair you’re sat on and starts to pick it up with you still sat on it. You remain still, frozen in place, scared that if you move that you’ll fall off the chair.

“Peter put the chair down!” You whisper yell.

He doesn’t even acknowledge you, showing no signs of discomfort or strain as he walks to the door. There’s no way he’ll be able to sneak out of here with you on the chair, he won’t be able to use his web shooters properly because of you. Peter’s hand grabs the doors handle, twisting it slowly and silently.

“Okay, fine,” You sigh and Peter pauses, “put the chair down and I’ll let you… get me out of here safely,” your voice is grumbled but he still hears you.

Peter heaves the chair to the ground, he doesn’t even need to lift the mask for you to know he has a smug smile plastered on underneath. You roll your eyes, sighing as you stand up and gesture for him to lead the way out of here. He lets slip a muffled chuckle but opens the door for you both and peaks out.

You’re about to walk out but Peter quickly shuts the door, making no noise, he turns to you and gestures for you to get back in the chair. Understanding what’s happening you move the chair back to its previous position and sit down, you’re untied but Peter doesn’t seem to be bothered by that. You watch as Peter crawls up the wall and to the ceiling, you cringe at how creepy that it; looks like something from one of those Exorcism movies.

The door opens and Erik walks through, a cigarette being lit as he steps inside. A casual stride, his eyes lazily glance around the crumbling room. His eyes roam over you, yet you’re still looking at Peter because he has raised the mask and is mouthing something to you; only he’s upside down, a man with a gun is in front of you and, honestly, Peter is rubbish at mouthing words.

“How did you get yourself untied?” His deep voice makes your eyes snap to his, arms crossed and the same blank expression as before, “You gonna answer me?”

You shrugged, “Stark’s have this uncanny ability to just get themselves out of tight situations. Tony calls it a curse, we just find a way to survive, even if others don’t,” you ramble away, hoping and waiting for Peter to do something, he doesn’t. “Natural born survivors, that’s what people say, so I am told anyway.”

“Do you always talk this much? In my family, those who talk with no reason are killed,” you nod slowly at that, eyebrows raising the more that statement settles in.

“Oh, what a lovely tradition,” you grimace, “I usually have better stuff to say, but I am rambling in the hopes you’ll be distracted enough for my friend to knock you out.”

There’s a moment of silence. Erik frowns at what you said and Peter realises what you mean, a hushed  _“Oh”_ leaving his lips. You roll your eyes at Peter, what did he think you were doing? Having a nice conversation with one of your kidnappers. You watch as Erik turns around, looking at Peter who is on the ceiling, before he can reach for his gun Peter jumps down and hits him, knocking him to the floor then punching him and effectively knocking him unconscious.

 _“Friend_?” Peter questions, you glance at him with a frown, “ _just_  a friend?” He scoffs and doesn’t even wait for you to respond, going to the door and opening it.

You sigh and shake your head, deciding to not say anything and just follow him, Tony would be showing up soon anyway. You walk silently behind Peter, through the dimly lit corridor, he peaks around the corner to where you were tied up before. What were you meant to say? You are friends, to your knowledge anyway.

“Stay here, friend,” Peter sarcastically says ‘friend’ about to crawl up the wall.

You grab his forearm and pull him to face you, frowning because he’s just being ridiculous with this. “What was I meant to say? You’re my friend, Peter, I’m being kidnapped and you’re being petty over me saying, friend?” You can’t see his face, which is now a disadvantage.

There’s a brief moment of silence before Peter turns back to the wall and begins climbing, a groan escapes you as you fall back against the wall. Waiting for Peter to come back and get you out of here, you cross your arms over your chest and pout. The first official argument with Peter, not going great. You got kidnapped during your fight and now you’re having a mini argument all because you said friend.

How can he be mad at that? It’s not like you guys are boyfriends if you were you would’ve said boyfriend, but you’re friends and that’s what you said because it’s what you are. He can’t be mad at you for that, if anyone deserves to be mad it’s you. You were lied to, made to look like an idiot, and then was kidnapped all in the space of an hour.

“Okay,” you jumped at Peter’s voice right next to your ear, “I’m going to create a distraction, so you can run out that door. Tony is two minutes away, so we should be okay.”

You shake your head slightly, “What do you mean distraction?”

“I’m going to draw their attention off of you and that door, that’s what I mean.”

“No way! What if you get hurt? They have guns,” you exclaim.

Peter just shrugs, “Didn’t think you’d mind or care.” His voice nonchalant, as if what he said doesn’t hurt you.

Did he really think that you wouldn’t care that he’s risking his life? That you would just let him, that you’d seriously just be fine with him getting hurt or killed because of you. You look away from him, scoffing out of shock and confusion. Before you can say anything, police sirens are blaring outside and cars are screeching to a halt outside, surrounding the building and keeping anyone from leaving or entering.

You don’t even glance at Peter as you step around him, not caring for the men who are struggling to find a safe way out. You look to see them all running up the metal stairs, guns out and ready, all heading to the roof. You bolt to the door, pushing it open and squinting at all the flashing lights of the cars, the bright light from a helicopter being aimed at you. You move your arm to shield you from the light, stepping forward and towards the group of people.

“Y/N!” You hear above the commotion, “Thank god, you’re okay,” the mechanical voice makes you feel safe, you watch as he lands and then Tony steps out of the suit, his face tired and full of concern. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?” You shake your head silently, Tony still grabs your shoulders and inspects you before pulling you in for a tight hug, his body is shaking- you suspect adrenaline.

You hear teams of police run inside, all swarming passed you and going to pursue the men in question. You wrap your arms around Tony, patting his back and sighing out of relief. Your heart, that has been hammering inside your chest since being kidnapped, finally starts to settle into a normal pace. Your breathing starts to even out, not coming out as sharp intakes anymore.

“I’m sorry,” you mutter, Tony pulls away and frowns at you, “Can we go home now? Kinda tired,” he smiles and nods, wrapping an arm around your shoulders and pulling you towards a car that Happy is driving, thankfully. You stop and look back, expecting Peter to be behind you both.

“He’s gone home,” Tony informs you, you sigh and nod. “You’ll work it out, you always do.”

“Wait,” Mj holds a hand up to stop you from talking, “you were kidnapped last night?” You nod at her disbelief, “Why the hell are you in today?”

You grab the books from your locker and stuff them inside your backpack, “Cause I need to speak to Peter, he and I had a bad fight yesterday.” You shut the locker and look at Mj, who’s leaning against other students lockers next to yours, your denim jacket on and falling off her shoulders. “I’ve ruined everything, Jones.”

She tilts her head to the side, a gloomy look taking over her features, “I’m sure that’s not true, Stark. He likes you, said so himself yesterday,” you raise an eyebrow, “That’s why we were late to meet you for lunch, Peter called us to the library, asked if he should ask you out.”

Mj links her arm through yours and leads you both towards AP Chemistry, your eyes glance over every student hoping to see Peter before the school day starts. The lessons you didn’t have Peter in seemed to drag on, which was most of the day. Even during lunch, you didn’t see Peter or Ned, Mj didn’t comment and actually listened to you rant about it.

By the end of the day, you hadn’t spoken to Peter. He picked seats with just enough distance away from you that you couldn’t speak, close enough to seem like everything was fine, but you knew it wasn’t. He didn’t look at you, speak to you or even acknowledge your existence.

You watch as Peter heads towards the SUV parked outside the school, the usual driver sat in front waiting for you. Glancing at the time on your phone, you decide against the car and head towards the subway. Making it just in time to get on the train you needed, staying standing up and ignoring the constant ringing of your phone. You send a text to Tony that you’re fine, not being kidnapped but going to see someone.

Getting off at your stop you rush through the busy Manhattan crowds, hoping to get to your destination before they end up leaving. You make it to the school gates, panting hard as you walk through with a big grin. Seeing all the parents and guardians standing around, waiting for their children to come rushing out. The doors open and the teacher stands, calling each kids name and waiting for their respective adult to collect them.

“Jayme Fisher,” You wave, stepping forward and smiling as your little brother starts jumping in excitement, “Y/N? Haven’t seen you in a while,” Mrs Hayes smiled.

You chuckle as Jayme rushes forward and hugs your legs, you gently pat his head, “Yeah, I’ve been with my dad and attending a school over in Queens,” she nods and you take Jayme’s hand and begin to lead him off school grounds, “So, how ya’ been little bud?” you kneel down and start to zip up his jacket and take his book -bag from him. “Spider-Man, really bud? What happened to the Hulk one?”

“Good, missed you,” you smile and nod, “I still ‘ave it. I just like Spidey right now. You comin’ back home?”

You sighed, “I’m sorry, bud. I can’t come home, not till mum wants me back,” standing up and taking his hand. “You’ve got Brooklyn and Shawn looking after you though, right?”

Jayme shakes his head, “Shawn is staying at his dad and stepmom’s place whilst mum is away, Brooklyn is always out, he’s playing up because mum is away.”

“Hey,” you look over your shoulder to Peter jogging up to you, “where the heck have you been?” He comes to stop a little before you.

You look down at your little brother, Jayme waves happily to Peter, “Decided to come see my little brother, Jayme. Already told Tony that.” You turn on your heel and begin to walk down the street, towards your old home. Peter falls into step with you both, remaining silent and the awkwardness starts to become apparent.

“Are you Y/N boyfriend?” Jayme asks loudly, you look wide-eyed at your little brother, who doesn’t look phased, Peter open and closes his mouth, “our other brothers were talking about how Y/N likes boys, I don’t mind it, he’s always had a thing for Captain America-”

“Okay, that’s enough of that. This is Peter, he works with my dad,” Peter is chuckling lightly beside you, you shake your head, “I don’t have a thing for Captain America anymore.”

Jayme is smiling and is quietly just walking beside you, “Have you met Spider-Man, yet?”

You glance at Peter who is admiring the Spider-Man merchandise your brother seems to have, you sigh and nod once. This sparks your brother to tug on your hand, jumping up and down as you walk, asking many questions about him.

“Pweaseeeeee,” he drags the word out, his lisp fully coming out. “I won’t ask about him ever again, I just wanna know.”

Ignoring Peter’s little smug and prideful smile, you exhale and groan, “fine.” This sparks a gleeful skip in your brother’s step as you walk, “What do you wanna know?” You give Peter a glare before looking at your little brother as you walk.

“What’s he like?” The question is simple, yet the answer is complicated, “I know you were disappointed when meeting Iron Man,” the last sentence is said quietly, Jayme is too young to realise that Tony Stark  ** _IS_** Iron Man, therefore Iron Man  ** _IS_**  your father.

You take a moment to think of your answer, “He’s a little annoying,” Peter scoffs, “But… he saves people, doesn’t ask for anything in return. He’s nice and kinda, nerdy. Well, actually, a massive nerd. He’s a good friend, too. Type of guy to come to your rescue even if you’re in the middle of an argument with him, and said some stuff you kind regret.” Jayme nods, taking all of that in, “you wouldn’t be disappointed if you met him.”

You glance at Peter as you cross the street, he’s smiling to himself as he walks, you want to believe he’s blushing but you put it down to being cold out in Manhattan today. You knock the door to your old home, passing Jayme his book-bag.

The door flings open, Oliver is standing in overalls, must’ve found work or that’s just his style nowadays, looking from Jayme to you. He grunts when he realises who you are. Jayme hugs and kisses your cheek goodbye before running inside, he waves at Peter, who also gives a little wave back.

“What are you doing around here?” Oliver grumbles, moving so you can’t see inside your house.

You shrugged, “Decided to pick up my little brother, a good thing too, looks like no one else was going to pick him up,” giving a sarcastic smile and that doesn’t settle well with Oliver. “Listen, we were just going. Let my mum know I dropped by, ‘kay?”

You stepped away, Peter following behind you, “Is that your boyfriend?” Oliver yells, sluggish smile on his horrid face, you don’t turn around as he chuckles. “Ever think your mother hasn’t gotten in contact because you’re a fag now?” He called.

You only turn because Peter stopped. The look of absolute thunder on Peter’s face, you place a hand on his shoulder just as he turns around. Oliver only chuckles at Peter, giving a little wave as he closes the door, knowing he’s gotten the reaction he intended. You tug on Peter’s arm, pulling Peter away, back towards the subway to go home.

“He is definitely not worth it, trust me,” you exclaim and look to Peter.

Peter seems to be in deep thought, not actually listening to a word you’re saying. You stop walking, grabbing his hand quickly before he can sulk off, Peter stops and looks at you, finally, actually giving you attention. His eyebrows are furrowed, his bottom lip caught between his teeth and he looks enraged.

“What’s up?” is all you manage to get out.

He runs his other hand through his hair, seemingly okay with his left being held by your own. “Why didn’t you say anything to that asshole? You just walked off.”

“It’s Oliver, it’s how he’s always been,” you shrug, “I’m used to it and, honestly, I’m kinda scared of him. Why do you think I pretended to be straight? It wasn’t a hobby to be someone I wasn’t, I was straight because living in that house as a gay guy would’ve been more torture than it was, and that’s saying something because it was Hell before.”

Peter nods slowly, frowning at the ground for a few seconds, “Why is your mum still with him?”

You move around Peter, beginning to slowly stroll through the streets, “Cause she doesn’t want to be alone,” you stare ahead, one shoulder shrugging. “Tony really hurt her, she doesn’t talk about it. She loved him, he didn’t love her but kept her along, then he broke things off. She found out she was pregnant with me, didn’t tell him for ages…” you trailed off, nodding to yourself slightly, “I think, she loves easily but always ends up with the wrong guys. Tony was a flight risk, didn’t want to be held down. Brooklyn’s dad is a liar, he was married when they were together and Jayme’s dad is a criminal now.”

Peter looks at you, his eyes watching as you try to explain your messy home life. Taking in all of your features, the permanent frown that seems to be placed whenever this topic is brought up. The way you sigh shakily as if you’re nervous to say all of this, the fear of being judged and mocked for not having the perfect life everyone assumes you have.

“Didn’t know that about Tony,” Peter remarks, “that Tony hurt your mum, I don’t know what I thought. One night stand is what I assumed,” he mutters, “Honestly, didn’t expect a guy like Oliver to be in your life. I don’t know much about your mum though, so I don’t know what I expected.”

You nod in agreement, “So, yeah, betcha didn’t think my life was that bad, huh?” you awkwardly chuckled, Peter raises an eyebrow at you, “The kid Tony didn’t want but ended up having anyway.”

Peter licks his lips and nods, “Honestly, don’t take this wrong, but I thought you were just a spoiled dick. You were rude, dismissive and mean when we first met. I thought all the fights you got into was because you were acting out for attention,” he declares with a shrug, “I was expecting some rich kid, you’re Mr Stark’s son, I was expecting the worse.”

“Well, don’t fucking hold back, Peter.” You nudge and he shyly chuckles, muttering an apology, “I was on purposefully mean to you, by the way. I didn’t want to be your friend because I didn’t want to stay here. It’s hard being Tony’s son, no one seems to get that. I sound whiny but… it’s difficult,” you glare at the ground. “I’ve been kidnapped three times, Peter. I’m so used to that situation that I hardly felt scared last night, in fact, I felt angry at the low price they put on my life.” Peter chuckled lightly at that but frowned as you shake your head. 

“I’m so used to people following me and writing about me, everyone wants  _something_  from me. No friendship is real when you’re Stark, I’ve never had a best friend, no one’s ever been real with me. I wake up every day and I’m just Iron Man’s son, that’s all I’m ever going to be to most people,” you shrug and peek at Peter, he’s nodding along to everything you’re saying, still holding your hand. “I’m not as smart as Tony, I don’t know why he put me in the same school as you. I’m not like him, people look at me and are disappointed,” you shakily sigh, “My life is constantly being judged against my father and it’ll always fall short in comparison,” you stammer, eyes stinging and you quickly blink back the tears.

Peter lets that all sink in, both of you entering the subway and quickly getting on your train. He sits next to you, reluctantly letting go of your hand. His eyes glance at the other passengers, all in their own little world and waiting to go home or to work.

A big part of him wanted to tell you how amazing you are, but he knows you wouldn’t believe that. Another part of him is too awkward to say how really feels, how he finds you perfect just because you aren’t like the expectations set for you. A large part is telling Peter to just be quiet, that his opinion doesn’t matter. But only yesterday you admitted that you liked him, so maybe, saying how he feels would be met with genuine appreciation.

“I think, that’s why you’re great,” he starts and you look away from the window to him, “you’re not like Tony, you shouldn’t be because you’re  _ **you**_. Your own person.” Peter shrugs with a little smile, “Plus you’re smart. You just think you aren’t because you compare it to Tony, but you are. You’re doing great in all your AP classes,” you chuckle and nod, “you have real friends now, Ned and Mj, they love you.”

You lean back against the chair, smiling softly at Peter for a moment, “Rude. You aren’t my friend now?”

“No,” Peter scoffs playfully, “I’m your best friend, duh.” You chuckle, rolling your eyes and settling against Peter because of how tired you are, “So… Captain America, huh?”

You choke on your breath, rolling your eyes, “It was a crush. I met him a few years ago, after the battle of New York, my mum wanted me and Tony to rekindle. I got to meet all of the Avengers,” Peter chuckled, “he was… very nice, physically attractive and I don’t have to explain myself. Have you met any of them?”

Peter lets slip a hearty chuckle, you grin and wait for whatever story he’s going to tell you, “Kinda fought them all up in Germany,” you raised your eyebrows, you knew what went down but didn’t know Peter was involved, “Yeah, stole Cap’s shield, beat up his two friends. Felt good, so many years having to do those awful Cap tests in gym class, he deserved it.”

The far-off look in Peter’s eyes, like he’s remembering a fond memory makes you laugh loudly. You try to control it because of the other passengers but when Peter joins in, it’s uncontrollable. Your laughter subsides and you chuckle lightly.

“Your little brother is cute though,” Peter comments and you nod once, “he really adores you, it’s nice. I don’t have any siblings,” the light sigh at the end of his comment makes you want to ask about his parents, but his face makes you refrain.

You nudge him lightly, “Thanks, for just about everything.” Peter smiles with a light shrug, “you make living here a little easier.”


	13. First Date Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is set a week after the kidnapping and Peter asks reader on a date, it's very cutesy. I hope you all like it.   
> sorry it took me so long to update, you can read chapters on Tumblr at Flatbottomholland before they're posted here. I'll try to be better with keeping everything up to date. - Rosalie

[Originally posted by lion-wasczyk](https://tmblr.co/ZDGLzt2c89BRv)

***One Week After Kidnapping Event: Peter’s POV***

“You STILL haven’t asked out Y/N!” Mj pushed Peter into his locker, crossing her arms over her chest and tapping her black ankle boot against the floor.

Peter rubbed his elbow, “Ow!” pouting when she rolls her eyes, “I just- He’s just- I don’t know how to, okay?” He exclaims, “I’ve never asked a guy out and if it’s anything like how I ask girls out then… he better run, let’s be real.”

Mj sighs, rolling her eyes. “You two are impossible, he likes you, you like him. What’s holding you back?”

Peter shuts his locker, “Honestly, crippling rejection,” he glances at Mj, “I really like him, Mj. More than I’ve liked anyone, I can’t mess this up and I can’t lose him either.”

She nods her head, smiling slightly, “Peter, I say this cause I might care about you a little bit,” Peter chuckles and stops to face her, “You’ve got nothing to worry about when it comes to asking Y/N out, you won’t be rejected. You’d be surprised by how much he likes you back, I’m his best friend, he tells me everything.”

Peter frowns, “I thought I was his best friend?”

“No, _I am_.” Mj rolls her eyes, “Ned is  _your_  best friend, I’m Y/N’s. You two are boyfriend’s, but you’re both too stupid and awkward to get to that stage, so you’re in this weird limbo area. Dancing between besties and boyfriend’s, it’s annoying and cringe to watch.” She shrugs her shoulders, giving a one finger salute as she backs away, “ask him out, take him to the movies tomorrow, he’s been dying to spend some time  _alone_  with you; free of Ned and myself,” Mj pivots on her heel and leaves the school building.

Peter sighs quietly to himself, how Mj knew everything still surprised him. She’s likely a spy, that’s a thought for another day though. He quickly runs out of the school building, eager to get home and plan how to ask you out. Not like he hadn’t extensively thought it out before, especially when on Spidey duty; even asked Karen for tips, she wasn’t that helpful.

He burst through his apartment door, throwing himself down on the plush sofa and sighing. It has been a full week since the incident; since you admitted that you actually liked Peter and then got mad when you discovered he is Spider-Man. Neither of you has had a conversation about what you said, about how he asked you out dressed as Spider-Man. Peter suspected you just wanted to forget the whole thing, pretend that it never happened and move on.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” May’s voice snaps Peter back to reality. “Not hurt from-”

Peter shakes his head, “No, nothing like that,” his hand grabs the tv remote and flicks it on, just to distract himself. “Trying to mentally prepare myself for asking someone out and then getting rejected,” his brown eyes sweep over to his aunt who raises an eyebrow at her nephew.

“Peter, whoever rejects you is an idiot,” she sits beside him, “any way you’ve asked out people before, right?”

“Well, yeah, but this one is different. I really like them, plus we’re kinda close and I don’t want to ruin a friendship by making things awkward over feelings, ya know?” he explains, hoping his Aunt would somehow understand his dilemma.

She nods slowly with a small smile, nudging him playfully. “Yes, I understand. I was a teenager too, once upon a time,” Peter chuckles lightly, glancing at May, “Peter, if you don’t take a chance and go for it you’ll regret it and wonder what could’ve been. If your uncle never took the chance on me, never got the courage to ask me out… I wouldn’t have had the best years of my life.”

Peter’s throat tightens at the mention of his uncle, nodding slowly with a watery smile, “I guess, he would want me to, wouldn’t he?”

There’s a brief pause of silence. Not because May is hesitant to answer his question, but because it’s been some time since they’ve talked openly about uncle Ben. Peter guessed by not talking about him, he was somehow easing May’s pain. The small smile on her face contradicts that, she gives a lighthearted chuckle as she leans back against the sofa.

“Peter, he’d be telling you to go for it,” there’s no sadness in her words now, just affection, “He’d tell you to dive right in, not care about consequences, Ben would have been ushering you out of the house to ask them in person and your dad would be telling you to plan it,” Peter smiles at her fond smile, “But, Peter, sometimes you gotta not care about the fear of rejection because there are moments when those crazy, bold moments really do pay off and this could be one of them.”

Peter sighs heavily, eyes watching the tv screen but mind too preoccupied to consume what was on. His head was swimming with the information May had just told him, he made a mental note to talk with May more about his family, only because she looked so happy when doing so. He gives a glance to May, who is invested in the show and sipping her coffee, he gently nods to himself and stands up.

As he stands he can feel May’s eyes on him, watching him from the corner of her eyes. He nervously walks towards his room, mind reeling with what to say and how to say it. Peter opens the door slowly, looking over his shoulder but May just grins, giving him a thumbs up of encouragement. Peter smiles tentatively and shuts his door.

He paces his room’s floor a couple of times, phone now out and in his hand. Your contact is pulled up and he’s debating whether to text or call, he should do it in person but he’s just too nervous to actually face you. Plus rejection is so much more easier to handle over the phone. He climbs up on his bed, laying down with a huff, biting his lip as he calls you.

The phone rings for a few seconds before he hears your voice, “Whaddup’ Pete?” You sound echoey, “Heads up, you’re on loudspeaker, no swearing or Pepper will have a cow.” Peter hears a faint ‘Shut up!’, he assumes it’s Miss Pott’s.  “I’m actually doing homework, can you believe?” Peter chuckles, “It seems too easy, does that mean I’m getting it wrong or am I just smart?”

“A little of both, possibly,” Peter’s smiling, “So… I kinda wanted to ask you something, is anyone around you?” he bites his bottom lip, the nervous swarm of butterflies are in the pit of his stomach.

You hum down the other end, “Go for it, I am all ears- well, not all ears, I have two but they’re listening to you and no one is here, Pepper has ran off, think Tony blew himself up-I should check on him too.” Peter raises his eyebrows at your rambling and hears you sigh, “feel free to shut me up.”

“I like listening to you talk,” Peter says unthinkingly, blushing when you start laughing, “what are you doing tomorrow?” he blurts out, shutting his eyes because that’s somehow gonna help the bittersweet of rejection.

“Umm, nothing. Tony’s meeting with Rhodey and General Ross, so I am alone. Why?”

Peter nods, even though you can’t see him, “Want to go to the movies tomorrow?” It’s silent, only for a second but that’s a second too long, “With me? Obviously, I don’t know why I added that you know with me.”

A muffled laugh over the phone eases Peter’s heart, “Of course, weirdo.” Peter smiles victoriously to himself, “what does Ned want to see this time?” His heart clenches again, you think it’s with the group.

He can either have you believe it’s with the group or tell you that’s it’s just you and him. Alone. No other friends. That it’s a date.

“Umm-haha-yeah, some horror, I think.” He wants to punch himself in the face, slapping his other hand over his eyes and screaming inside his head.

“Okay, well, I’ll see you tomorrow and don’t be late again,” Peter chuckled lightly before hanging up.

Peter remains laying on his bed, the phone being dropped to beside his head on the pillow. He asked you out, that’s something and you had said yes, but under the pretence that it’s a group thing. He’s going to have to call Ned and Mj up now and invite them along to the movies.

Unless he just says they bailed at the last second. Then it’ll just be you two, you’ll have a good time and it will turn into a date anyway. An “unplanned” date. That could totally work, it happens in the movies all the time. Two people hang out together, that never normally hang out alone, it turns into an unplanned date, it goes well and then they live happily ever after… that could totally happen tomorrow.

**_*Next Day// Normal P.O.V*_ **

“Okay, no parties,” Tony says seriously, grabbing his luggage, you raise an eyebrow, “Kidding, obviously, but no parties, I’m not here and that’s just rude. If you need me I am a FaceTime call away.”

You chuckled, nodding, “I’m going to be just fine, Tony.” He nods once, allowing Happy to take his luggage to the car, “I’m meeting up with Peter tonight, I’ll be fine and I do  _not_  need a babysitter,” you affirm one last time.

“You’re fifteen, I can’t leave you here alone, especially after last week.” You walk slowly with him to the door, nodding once, “But Pepper will be popping in, you’re welcome to have friends over. No fonduing,” he points sternly and pulls on his glasses.

You frown, “Fonduing?”

“My dad said it to me once, he heard it from an old friend,” Tony sighs silently, giving you a small smile. “Have fun, not too much fun. Remember to call Lauren, she’s actually back in New York,” you nod giving a wave as he walks out to the car.

You watch as the car descends down the long driveway and leaving out of the gates. You turn and shut the door, the faint ‘beep’ announcing it’s closed and locked. Finally, you have the place to yourself, kinda. The living quarters are yours, the other side where people work and do saving the world stuff is still filled by people, but otherwise, you’re completely alone.

Pulling out your phone you debate calling your mother like Tony said to. Only she hadn’t made the effort to call you since she got back, hadn’t even checked in since you left. You knew it was ‘cause of how busy her business is, she also has other kids to be concerned about, especially Brooklyn; who is becoming the new-old-you, fighting and staying out late. You had to be blessed with two workaholic parents.

The only thing on your mind was the fact you’d be seeing a horror movie tonight, which you absolutely hated. Any horror movie scared you, from their jump scares to their gore, it was a nightmare for you. Only a few horror movies were bearable; Saw and Hostel were fine, but anything that involved supernatural beings or aliens just wasn’t for you. You wanted to go, spend time with your friends and, most importantly, Peter. Yet, you didn’t want to look like an idiot, like a wimp because of a movie in front of him-  _and them_.

You spent most of your time getting ready, psyching yourself up, Googling the cinema’s movie list and looking through their horror selection; trying to figure out what movie you’d be seeing. After looking at plots and actually trying to find spoilers for the jump scares, you were ready to actually start getting ready.

## **

You walked outside, watching as a car pulled up to take you to the cinema. Your heart started to pick up, memories of last week running through your head. You don’t make any move to get in, frozen in place almost, till the drivers’ door opens. Warren, the driver who drives you to and from school steps out, a friendly smile on his face.

“Hey, Y/N, everything fine?” He asks, walking around the car to open your door, smiling when you physically untense and nod. “Where do you want me to take you?” You sigh getting in and watch as he walks around and gets in the driver’s seat.

“Just to the cinema, please,” He nods and starts the drive to your destination.

It’s silent in the car, the radio playing softly in the background, some station that plays old music- it’s Warren’s favourite, well you assume it is because he sings along sometimes. “You meeting up with that Parker kid?” He eyes you in the mirror, you nod once, “You two are quickly becoming friends, I remember when you first arrived here and refused to talk with him in the back there.”

You chuckled, rolling your eyes, “It’s only been a few months,” Warren nods, turning onto the street, “he is growing on me though, I’ll admit that.” You mutter, mainly to yourself. You open the door, stopping momentarily, “Warren, go home, to your family. I’ll get an Uber home with Peter,” he nods with a smile wishing you a good evening.

Walking towards the building you start to frown, normally Ned is here before everyone else. He lives the closest and likes buying snacks before the lines get too long, Mj is the second latest only arriving a little before Peter does. You lean against the building, hands inside your jean pockets and exhaling slowly. The longer you waited, which wasn’t that long since you are early, the more confused you became. Ned would be here by now, so would Mj or she would text you.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” you look up to see Peter walking towards you.

He looked different, a good different. The usual science pun shirt and sweater combo are gone, replaced with a dark jacket and printed shirt. His usual unruly messy curls are styled to look messy, yet look nicely placed and more soft than normal. The usual cute Peter, the Peter you had grown accustomed to, is suddenly… hot.

“Uh-it’s good, we’re actually here before the others,” you exclaim and Peter chuckles, looking away and standing with you for a few silent seconds, “you trying a new style or what?” You ask just to fill the silence and pass the time.

Peter looks down at himself, “Yeah, figured I should branch out,” he comments and looks up, “I’m unsure though-”

You shake your head, “No, you look great,” you look away because you  _really_ said that too quickly, “you don’t look like a nerd!” You chuckle as Peter pretends to look hurt, placing a hand over his heart and stepping back, you shrug with a grin.

“I looked up Stark fashion tips and did the opposite,” he quips, one shoulder shrugging, but the quick glance to your face just to make sure you weren’t actually offended makes you chuckle.

You wait a few more seconds, giving Peter another once over and connecting the dots in your head. Even if Ned was running late he would’ve given a heads up, plus normally Mj texts you, asking you to get a Tango Ice-Blast for her. Did Peter even ask them to come along? Why would he say they were coming if they aren’t? You pull out your phone, typing a quick text to Mj.

_“Hey, are you coming tonight? To the cinema?- Y/N_

**_“No”  
_ _“I was never invited? Who planned this?” - Mj_ **

_“Peter! we’re stood waiting for Ned and You!!!” - Y/N_

**_“OMG!!!”  
_ _“He actually asked you!!!”  
_ _“So, proud”  
_ ** _“You’re on a date! Let me know how it goes”-Mj_

You lock your phone, eyes looking at Peter who is looking at his own phone. This is a date. This is actually a date. Why didn’t he tell you this was a date, you haven’t prepared for this to be a date. You’re definitely not dressed for a date, he’s dressed for a date, why didn’t he let you dress for a date? How the hell are you meant to impress him when you’re dressed so casual, this is friends hanging out attire, not date attire.

“So, Ned isn’t coming and Mj can’t be bothered, we should get tickets,” He looks up and meets your worried eyes, “What?” He looks around quickly, trying to find some form of danger.

“This is a date.” Is all you manage to get out, his eyes snap to yours and, probably, hold the same amount of worry yours have, “Why didn’t you tell me this is a date? I’m not dressed for that.”

Peter shrugs, stuttering as he talks, “I just-I don’t know, I panicked on the phone yesterday. Thought you wouldn’t come if it was just us, figured I’d ease you into the idea of this being a date,” you frowned, “I don’t know, I wasn’t really thinking straight.”

There’s a brief pause. Peter is biting his bottom lip, looking around awkwardly, watching couples and groups of friends walk inside. You’re too busy smiling over the fact this is a date, your first date ever, and it’s with Peter.

“This doesn’t have to be a date,” Peter mutters, “if you don’t want it to. We can just watch a movie, as friends… or we can just go home.” His shyness coming back, face bright red, yet adorable.

“No, I… want this to be a date,” you shyly smile, _since when do I get this shy_ \- you think to yourself, “Didn’t think Spider-Man would have time for dating,” you tease playfully, trying to lighten the shy-tension between you both.

“Hey, if Iron Man can have a love life then so can Spidey,” Peter pointed out, walking into the movie theatre with you following behind him, catching up quickly and turning to walk backwards so you could face him.

You held up a finger, pointing it at him tauntingly, “You’re on a date with the future Iron Man, how does that make you feel?”

Peter looks at you with raised eyebrows, “You’re the future Iron Man?” His voice doesn’t have any mock or play to it, sounding completely serious when he asks.

“Ouch,” you look down at Peter, “You don’t think I can be Iron Man?”

Peter lets out a chuckle, “No,” you raised an eyebrow, “Not like that, you just… don’t seem interested in that, I just figured you had other plans with your future.”

“I do,” you nod, “I’m too much like my mother to ever be a superhero,” you chuckled lightly.

Before Peter can ask more about it, it’s your turn in line. Both walking up, Peter pays for the tickets- picking what you read to be the scariest movie out- and you got the snacks. After getting drinks, popcorn and other snacks, you walk to the room where the movie will be played. The trailers already playing as you take your seats near to the back.

The trailers playing for the movie had you on edge, you dreaded the actual movie that was coming. Glancing at Peter, who didn’t seem to be scared or even flinched during most of the trailers, actually leaning over the armrest to whisper how the last trailer looked hilarious. Is he even real? How can he not be scared? You felt like you were sweating, your heart was beating too fast, the movie hadn’t even started.

When the movie started to play you were gone, slouched in your seat, elbow on the armrest and hand on your face partially covering your eyes. The dramatic music had you tense up, the characters made you very annoyed by their actions and the demon that lurked in their home needed to fuck off. You hadn’t touched the popcorn, that was in Peter’s lap and being eaten casually, the drink also went untouched by you. You moved your head slightly, looking at Peter, hand covering your peripheral vision.

He has never looked more relaxed. Peter was sat up in his seat. Popcorn settled on his lap, one elbow on the other armrest and the other hand grabbing some popcorn. His face is illuminated by the screen, completely engrossed in the movie, yet he  _still_ didn’t jump or flinch at jump scares or even tense at the suspense. People would jump, flinging popcorn in the air or shriek, yet he didn’t budge.

You decided to just watch Peter, far more entertaining than the movie, less scary too. He didn’t even notice when your eyes would wander over to him, especially during the scary or creepy scenes (which was just about all of them).

After what felt like a lifetime the lights come on, the credits rolled and the equally scary credit music started to fill the room. People making light chatter, grabbing their jackets and leaving down the stairs of the theatre room. Peter pulled his jacket on, turning to you with a smile.

“That movie was so dumb, right?” He asked with a chuckle, it dying when you gave a nervous laugh and nodded, standing up and waiting for him to get up. “Wait, did you find that scary?”

You shake your head, “What? Pffff, no way.” He raised an eyebrow, “You’re a sociopath, how did you not jump when the demon jumped out from the dark? I’m not going to be able to sleep tonight, every sound I’ll think is that demon.” You shivered, following Peter out of the building and out to the cold Brooklyn streets.

“If you hate horrors so much why didn’t you say anything?” He asked and you shrugged, “We’ve watched horrors before,” he commented and started to walk in the direction of the nearest pizza place.

“Well, you like horrors, so I just… I don’t know,” you mumble, “plus we normally stay up texting at night, so it doesn’t bother me anyway.”

Peter smiles, glancing at you as you both walk down the street. He hadn’t noticed how often you guys stay up texting, usually because he’s out on patrol till the early hours of the morning. He especially hadn’t noticed how more engaged you got after a horror-thon at his or Ned’s house. He doesn’t say anything just opting for walking silently beside you, enjoying your company, and having an internal battle over whether to hold your hand.

The way you had one hand in your jacket pocket, the other hanging loosely beside you, almost as if you want him to take it- ** _which you do_**. His eyes kept glancing down to it, your hand sometimes brushing his as you talk and walk beside him. About to take a hold of it but you reach the pizza place, you open the door and wait for him to step inside. Frustration builds up inside of him, mad that he didn’t take ahold of your hand in time and that he had spent most of the walk overthinking it.

You both argued on who was paying for the pizza, Peter beating you to the register, actually holding you back as he paid with a smug smile. You pout beside him, slowly walking over to a table and sitting down with a huff. Your arms crossing over your chest, heaving a loud sigh as Peter walks over with a chuckle and sits opposite you.

“You cheated, you used your super strength!”

“Actually, I didn’t. You’re just weak,” You scoffed loudly, pretending to be offended. “I asked you out remember?” He grins, “So, only fair I pay. You can pay next time,” he says without thinking and opening his can of lemonade.

You smile shyly to yourself, sitting up and uncrossing your arms at his words, “Next time?” You ask Peter meets your eyes with equally shy ones, “Okay, next time I’ll pay. No horrors next time though,” the smile that comes upon Peter’s face is enough to make you melt.

The pizza is brought over to your table, you both eat in comfortable silence for a few minutes. Enjoying one another's’ company, occasionally stealing glances at each other before the other can notice. You turn your phone back on, chuckling at the number of texts from Mj, all of which concerning your current date.

“So, can I ask a question?” You looked at Peter expectedly, he swallows his bite of pizza and nods, “Am I the first guy you’ve been on a date with?”

Peter chews his next bite slowly, nodding a little. Instead of going to speak, he picks up his drink and takes long sips, trying to take as long as possible.

“It’s not a bad thing,” you smile, “I just wanted to know if we’re on the same level, we are, by the way.”

Peter’s eyebrows shoot up, almost into his hairline, “This is your first date with a guy?”

“This is my first date… ever.”

Peter blinks a couple of times, leaning back against his chair and nodding, “Huh,” he says, mostly to himself. “So, by default, this is the best date you’ve been on. I’m your best date,” he’s smiling to himself like it was an accomplishment he had to fulfil.

“Very cute,” you comment, only making Peter beam and carry on eating.

You spend the rest of the time at the pizza place, laughing and talking, really getting to know one another; you already do but in a different way, you couldn’t describe it. The way Peter looked so intrigued by what you were saying, how his face lit up when talking about his aunt or his favourite tv show characters. 

##  ******

“Would you like to come inside?” You grinned walking up to the Avengers compound, a playful tone laced your words.

Peter smiles, “Oh, I better not. Spider-Man duties early tomorrow,” you laughed at how cheesy this conversation had become, like something out of those rom-coms you secretly love.

“Can you like hang out for an hour?” You asked seriously, Peter raised an eyebrow in question, “you just made me sit through a horror about a demon in the dark, you owe me.” Peter chuckles quietly, “Aren’t you meant to be a superhero? You’re meant to help me, not laugh.” You tease.

Peter rolls his eyes, “Fine. Okay, I’ll save you,” a mocking exasperated sigh leaving his lips, “I’ll go check for ghosts, demons and creatures lurking in the dark, for you. Wait right here,” he opens the door and walks inside.

The lights automatically coming on and you’re able to see Peter, his back to you, as he walks down the corridor and disappears around a corner. You suspect he’s gone to check the living room, turning lights on as he goes, plus your room.  

You felt like you were waiting for hours, tapping your foot expectedly and growing a tad concerned at how long he’s taking. You groan out of low patience, pushing the door open and walking inside, it’s eerily quiet in the building; too quiet. You slowly walk the way Peter had, trying not to be loud. You’re about to walk down the same hallway Peter disappeared down when a body collides with yours.

“Fuck!” You yell.

A familiar laugh sings through your ears, it’s Peter who is laughing, watching as you hunch over and clutch your beating heart. “So, not funny!”

“It is a little,” Peter admits with a stifled laugh. “No ghouls or demons lurking, we’re good to hang.”

You stand up straight, shoving his shoulder playfully as you walk past him. You know he’s following because you can hear his quiet chuckles, still laughing about making you jump by accident. You jump over the back of the sofa, Peter walking around and joining you, sitting beside you but not too close. You turn on the tv, plus games console, passing the controller to Peter.

“Why do I always have to play?” He still starts the game, “you know I’m not very good at these,” his voice a balance between explaining and a whine.

You shrugged, “I prefer watching you play, it’s fun to watch you fail,” looking at him with a smile.

Peter rolls his eyes and begins playing the game anyway, tongue poking out of his mouth in concentration, eyes narrowing and focusing on the screen. You would add commentary, even giving some tips and advice on what to do. It’s a full two-hours before Peter gives up, admitting defeat over level fifteen. You were leaning against him, his shoulder digging into your back and your legs dangling off the armrest.

You watch as he switches back to normal tv, settling on some sitcom that makes him chuckle, his shoulder making you jostle up and down. Yourself and Peter made comments, talking about your favourite actors and movies, his being most that you hadn’t seen. Your phone kept binging, all messages from Mj, that you still haven’t answered.

“Is that Mj?” Peter asked looking over your shoulder to your phone, “What’s she saying?”

“Asking about you,” you say truthfully, “Like the date, I haven’t answered her, yet.”

Peter’s silent, “What are you going to say?”

You debate on what to say, to Peter and then to Mj, “Probably, talk about how cute you are till she gets disgusted,” you don’t have to look at him to know he’s blushing, it’s the soft ‘Oh!’ that makes you chuckle silently, “No, I’ll tell her how I’ve had a good time and hope we do this soon… or something like that anyway,” the nervousness coming up again, butterflies in your stomach.

It’s only Peter, is all you can think to yourself. Yet, that’s why you’re so nervous because it’s _Peter_. Peter, the super nerdy guy, who is your friend and crush, but also just the  _sweetest_  and  _cutest_  human being on the planet.

“Y/N?” You turn so you’re facing him, smiling at his nervousness.

It’s like time freezes or slowdowns as if you and Peter are the only two people in existence. The tv turns to background noise, almost nonexistent, all you can hear is your loud thumping heart. Peter is so close to you, you can make out every shade of brown in his eyes, every freckle that dots his face. Is Peter about to kiss you?

The butterflies are now swarming your stomach, the anxious fear kicking in again. Last time you kissed you a guy, he had outed you with photos, you know Peter would never do that, but your mind can’t help but be irrational. You want to kiss Peter, you do. You let out a shaky breath, mind finally calming down as you both lean in closer.

A continuous beeping sound makes you frown, it’s loud and annoying, it makes you pull away from Peter. Abruptly ending the moment that was happening and going to happen, not noticing Peter’s deflated look of the kiss not happening. You look around trying to find the source of the mysterious beeping, looking at Peter for some kind of explanation. There’s a moment of him looking dejected, head hung low and hands on his knees.

Then he springs up, rushing around the sofa and pulling out a backpack. He unzips it and reveals the Spidey suit before you can say anything he’s rushing off down the hall, coming back a few seconds later in the suit and holding the mask in his right hand.

“I guess, the date is over then?” You ask, kneeling on the sofa, sticking your bottom lip out when he nods, “Okay, well, be safe?” You phrased it as more of a question.

Peter nods, giving you a little wave and saying he’d call you later. You watch him leave, pulling his mask on as he runs down the hallway and disappears. You exhale and sit back down, flopping on the sofa and looking at the tv screen. Maybe, you should’ve kissed him. It is only a first date… are you meant to kiss on the first date? What are the rules in dating? Does he hate you now for not kissing him? It’s not your fault, it’s his suit’s fault. 

Then you hear feet rushing back to you, you don’t bother turning around because it’s Peter, probably, forgotten something.

“I forgot something,” Peter yells from behind you, you nod once with a smirk because you were right.

Then you feel a pair of lips kiss your left cheek, they’re warm and a little wet, plus chapped from all the biting. A small timid smile pulls at the corners of your lips, heat rising up your neck and to your cheeks, making you feel incredibly warm. This has shocked you, especially since you knew Peter was having an internal battle over holding your hand earlier, so for him to just come back and kiss your cheek.

He pulls away from you, you glance at him and he looks shocked with himself, “Okay, bye.” He rushes away, his cheeks tinged pink and his eyes wide.

“Bye,” you mumble with a grin, knowing he’s too far to hear you anyway.


	14. I Should Have Kissed You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader is facing some tough decisions and some thoughts are being louder than others. Is his blossoming relationship with Peter a good thing? Is he jealous of the obvious connection Peter has with Tony? - Rosalie

[Originally posted by superzeroic](https://tmblr.co/ZC8KdY2c68_VD)

[Originally posted by marvelgifs](https://tmblr.co/Z-X26r2QR9IhO)

“So, he was going to kiss you but then you bailed?” Mj asked in a hushed whisper, “why?”

She had been pestering you all day about the date, asking questions and adding little comments, trying to get you to spill every single detail. You had enjoyed telling her everything, she’s your best friend and excited about your… new relationship?

What Mj couldn’t grasp was the fact you hadn’t kissed Peter, that you pulled away before the last moment and allowed Peter to leave. She thought the kiss on the cheek was cute, but she kept asking about the almost first kiss. Completely confused by your actions. Honestly, you were confused also. You know Peter would never hurt you or push you into anything, but you just couldn’t kiss him and allowed yourself to get distracted.

“It just didn’t feel right,” you mutter, eyes focused on the front of the class. “My first ever kiss has been posted all over the internet, I just want to take this at a steady pace.”

You can’t look at Mj, you felt bad for not kissing Peter. You want to kiss him, so badly but after what happened with Martin, you just can’t put yourself through that again. You shouldn’t compare Peter to Martin, Peter would never hurt you or betray you like that, but the sickly feeling of “What if” pops-up and you just can’t bring yourself to kiss him, yet.

Mj doesn’t comment any further on the topic, she even starts paying attention to the class. She makes a few comments on the lesson, even students and you nod along, Mj knows when to stop prying- which you appreciate about her. Mj knows you better than you know yourself, it’s weird how she gets you, even after only knowing you for a few short months. The bell rings signalling the end of the day, you stand up and walk in silence with Mj to your lockers.

“Sorry if I was being pushy,” Mj mutters and you frown as you put your books away, “I don’t want you to think I was dissing you or making fun of you for not kissing Peter-”

You smiled and shut your locker, “Michelle Jones, never apologise to me,” she sighs with an eye roll, “I know you just wanted all the details, honestly, I’m confused at myself for not kissing Peter on Saturday night. I’m just scared it’ll happen all over again, but I know Peter ain’t like that, I’m just a coward.”

Mj nudges you playfully. “Hey, not everyone kisses on the first date, leaves them wanting more,” she winks flirtatiously at you. “Have you talked to Peter since then?”

You smile to yourself, hiding your face behind your locker door, “Not about the almost kiss, I think, we’re pretending it never happened. But we’ve been hanging out, his internship with my dad has meant he’s been at my place a lot. We’ve been hanging out casually, not like dates, but they could be classed as that,” you shrug casually as you shut the door and look at your best friend.

Mj raises an eyebrow at you, “Stop lying to me.”

“How do you-” you shake your head and sigh, “so, we’ve been having casual dates. We’ve been ordering take-out and he’s been showing me these nerdy films, Lord of the Rings or something. They’re so long,” you whine and Mj chuckles as you walk, “but he’s really into the hardcore lore of them, so as the three-hour movie is playing he’s telling me about the production and history of the books, it’s… nerdy, but he somehow makes it cute.”

Mj just laughs at you, “No it’s definitely just nerdy. You just find Peter attractive, so it’s cute.”

You feel yourself get flustered, stuttering slightly on unaired words at what Mj just said. She only continues to laugh at your flustered, and blushy, state of being. You feel incredibly hot, a little flushed, but she’s right. You’d be an idiot to not notice how attractive Peter is, plus you do find his nerdiness a little cute, not that you’d ever say it to Peter- he’s somehow more blushy and flustered than you.

“When you two kiss,” Mj begins with a grin, “It’s gonna be either epic and completely hot or… an awkward and clumsy mess.”

You couldn’t help but agree with her on that. Depending on how it goes, it could be the greatest kiss you both would ever experience and a moment you’d remember for the rest of your lives; every kiss after that great first would be compared to it. But then it could go the opposite, so awkward and messy that you both will want to forget it ever happened, it could essentially make or break you both.

Maybe, that’s why you didn’t kiss him too. What if you both don’t feel that spark, the electricity and fireworks that’s always talked about. When Peter kisses you and he doesn’t feel anything, that’s what’s scary; that he doesn’t feel anything when kissing you and realises he doesn’t like you.

“What does Peter even do for that internship?” Mj asks with a frown, you walk over to her locked and lean against the ones beside hers, you bite the inside of your cheek form telling her the real reason behind the internship. “Does your dad actually spend time with Peter?” 

You nod slightly, “Yeah, they work closely on small projects together. I don’t really know what, it’s some science bonding time or whatever if Peter ain’t with me he’s with my dad and they have inside jokes.” 

Mj raises an eyebrow looking at you, “You sound salty,” you frown and look at her, “Are you jealous?” You scoff at her words, “You are. But of who? That’s the question, of your dad spending time with Peter or… of Peter actually having the same interests as your dad?” 

You scoff and glare at her, baffled by her words, “Okay, I love you but fuck off Mj. Don’t be ridiculous,” you roll your eyes and look down the school’s hallway. Jealous? Of your dad and Peter? She’s officially lost her mind. 

“I mean, it’s not completely idiotic, but whatever,” Mj shrugs the ‘fuck off’ and not being offended by your words, she never is. 

##  ***NEXT DAY***

“Drive slowly towards the first left,” Happy points ahead, sat in the passenger side of Tony’s car.

Happy had decided it was about time you learnt how to drive, not that you minded because you actually did want to learn. Yet, you didn’t think he’d start off by straight away sticking you in a car and telling you to drive, only giving you the basics five minutes before leaving the Avengers compound. Now here you are, on a somewhat busy road with Happy giving you tips and sometimes yelling at you to break.

You were grateful it’s Happy and not Tony, you couldn’t be around Tony right now. The urge to tell him about the date with Peter, yet you couldn’t because Peter hasn’t actually come out, yet. You didn’t want to take away Peter’s moment, but you did want to have a moment with Tony about your first real date and your first real, possible, potential boyfriend.

“So, been up to much?” You asked playing off the nervous twitch due to driving, your eyes flashing from the road ahead, to your mirrors and then to Happy.

Happy raises an eyebrow at you, instantly catching your suspicious attitude, Happy always has had an uncanny way of picking up on your vibe. He did you know from when you were a baby, so it’s no wonder that he just knows when you’re acting weird.

“Okay, what’s going on?” He asks and you shrug your shoulders innocently, “You can tell me anything, you know that, right? I’d never tell Tony unless you have  murdered someone.”  

You chuckle lightly but sigh, “I went on a date when Tony left for the weekend,” you admit and glance at Happy who just shrugs, “with Peter.”

There’s a moment of silence, not out of shock or disgust- well, Happy ain’t keen on Peter, but he likes him, not that he’ll ever admit that out loud- he just nods. Frowning because he’s not sure what to say or tell you, but there’s a faint smile on his face.

“So, how did it go?”

You sighed lightly, “Amazing. It went amazingly…” and you let out a long exhale, a muffled ‘uh-oh’ left Happy’s mouth, “he went to kiss me but I, kinda, left him hanging and we haven’t really spoken about the almost kiss since then and I don’t know what to do, so yeah.”

Happy raises his eyebrows and chuckles, “Listen, kid, dating is hard and everyone goes about it different ways and at their own paces. You’ll kiss when the time is right, if you were meant to kiss on the first date then you would’ve kissed on the first date, okay?” You nod once and smile, “have you two, at least, been on other dates or been hanging out?”

You nod vigorously, “Yeah, of course. We’ve been hanging out and watching movies, he’s been mostly showing me his favourite ones and we’ve gotten take-away’s and stuff,” Happy nods with a grin, “Is that the same thing?”

“Yes, of course. Understated dates, he’s showing you his interests,” you raise an eyebrow at Happy, but go back to concentrating on the road ahead, “when someone is showing you what they like, interests and hobbies, it means they want to keep seeing you. They’re sharing their favourite things with you, that’s a very special thing,” you nod slightly and smile to yourself, “You guys are young, see where this goes, don’t go rushing things. Go at your own speed, not everything has to be experienced in the first weeks, okay?” You nod with an awkward smile, already knowing what he’s getting at, “Peter is… a sweet boy, I suppose. Is there a reason you haven’t told your dad?”

“Peter hasn’t exactly told anyone his sexuality, I don’t want to tell Tony, his mentor or take away his moment or anything,” Happy nods, “But… I remembered how we used to talk about everything, you never told Tony anything.”

Happy chuckles, “I drove Tony to the hospital the day you were born, a few hours after, but we made it by eleven at night. I got to hold you whilst Lauren was asleep,” you smile softly and stop at a red light, “then I watched Tony hold you, I hadn’t seen him smile, really smile in a few months and he did that night. Made a promise that I wouldn’t just guard Tony’s life,” you had never heard that before, “Have you talked to your mum? She’s been blowing up Tony’s phone lately.”

You let out a long sigh and shake your head, not really wanting to get into the conversation about that. You had been avoiding her, only a little bit. Not answering her calls or texts, going out when you know she’s planned to visit. You just couldn’t face her, especially knowing she’s still with Oliver after everything he’s said about you.

“Give her a chance, she loves you,” Happy sighs and you nod, “you just got parents that are such workaholics, honestly, they need to chill.”

You nod lightly, “Well, Tony’s stressed,” Happy raises an eyebrow, “the Avengers breaking up, no one knows where Bruce or Thor is, his only son is gay and he’s having a nightmare about some distant threat coming.”

There’s a pause of silence in the car, you stop at a stop sign for a few seconds before continuing to drive again.

“Tony has… changed since that first alien invasion. He’s got anxiety, I know it, I have it and I can spot it a mile away. He’s scared he’ll lose everyone, he’s already pushed his friends away, he’s trying to…” you stop short and think for a moment, “keep me around. Honestly, I like it here and I don’t want to go back, but I can’t deal with the whole hero thing.”

Happy sighs and nods, “I know. I’ve noticed the shift too, he’s always been the tense type anyway, but since his hostage situation and Stane betraying him, then all the crap after. He’s going through a tough time, Y/N. Iron Man is the only way he knows he can keep everyone safe.”

“Yeah,” You admit, “it’s scary, Happy. I’m scared that one day he won’t be here, it’s why I broke contact last time because he was caught up in being Iron Man. He felt like he had to save everyone and prove himself to Howard, he doesn’t have to prove anything to anyone. He’s willing to die for the ones he loves, but he doesn’t realise that we don’t want that.”

Happy sighs and nods slowly, “Kid, Tony will always protect you and Pepper, no matter what. Your lives are more important to him, he values everyone before himself. That’s being a Stark though, right? You guys value yourselves the least in a room,” that sunk your heart but you nodded, knowing it was the cold hard truth. “You’re dating a superhero now, you’ve gotta get used to that feeling. It’s been almost ten years and Pepper still has trouble with it.”

You hadn’t thought about that. Your dad is a superhero and now the guy you’re dating is one too, why did you have to fall for a superhero? Peter had to have abilities and an alter ego, he couldn’t be a normal, adorable nerd guy, he just had to go a step further.

You frown as you walked into Ned’s room, “No Peter?”

Ned shakes his head and sits on the floor, homework scattered on his carpet flooring and you move to sit opposite him, pulling out everything you needed for studying with Ned. You usually spent evenings round someone’s house, studying and eating pizza, it’s become a sort of tradition in the friendship group. Only Mj is sick and Peter is…out being Spider-Man, apparently.

You found it hard to concentrate knowing Peter was out on the streets, saving people and risking his life. You got the same feeling you get when knowing Tony is out as Iron Man, thankfully the suits are made to fly themselves, so technically he doesn’t need to anymore. Then there are times where he goes and you’re up worrying over if he’ll come back alive or in pieces.

“You okay?” Ned puts down his pen and looks at you, you snap your attention away from his bedroom window and blink awkwardly at Ned, “you don’t have to talk about it, but since we both know Peter’s secret,” Ned shrugs and smiles softly at you.

“Aren’t you worried about him?” You asked with a frown, “I worry, a lot. Thought I’d be used to, you know, cause my dad. I’m not. He’s out there being Spider-Man and risking his life, what if he gets hurt or killed?” You asked in a rush.

Ned is silent for a moment, making sure that you’re actually done with your little rant and sighs softly, “well, he’s my best friend and I’m worried, of course. But this is what he wants to do, we just gotta support him and be there when he needs us,” you nodded along.

“I guess,” you mutter, mostly to yourself. You force a smile just to fool Ned, you didn’t want him to relay back to Peter that you’re concerned or rethinking anything about the potential relationship.

You aren’t, well, you don’t think you are. Can you really date a superhero? You already have a hard time coping with your dad being a superhero, can you really deal with a superhero boyfriend? You don’t want to hold Peter back either, you can’t make him choose because that’s selfish. You wished you could talk to Mj about this, she’d have the answers, but she doesn’t know Peter’s secret. Which is another thing, you feel guilty that she doesn’t know and she’s out of the loop.

“Why hasn’t Peter told Mj?” You don’t look up from your blank notebook, Ned too involved in his homework to look up and notice you’re not doing anything anyway.

“The fewer people know the better,” Ned mutters and you nod, “I wasn’t meant to find out and neither was May. Peter was actually going to tell you, you were the only planned one but that kinda went wrong.” Ned chuckled and you nodded, a small smile pulling at your lips.

You tilt your head, “Do you think it’s a good idea?”

“Do I think what’s a good idea?” Ned looks up from his laptop, searching for some help on his homework.

“Me and Peter dating?”

Ned frowns, eyeing for a long moment, “I think, if you both like one another then it’s worth a shot, right? But you are completely different people, you’ve led completely different lives, too. Peter likes you, isn’t that reason enough and you like him, so why not?”

“Is there a way I can just date Peter Parker?” You ask seriously, “No Spider-man side involved at all, just Peter Parker.”

Ned shakes his head, “Nope, otherwise it’ll be a lot of this,” you frown in confusion, “You wait around for  _just_ Peter, Spider-Man is now part of who he is, you can’t change that and I don’t think it’ll be a good idea to try,” Ned shrugged slightly and goes back to his laptop screen.

The talk with Ned has only made your mind more muddled. Happy had given you some great advice, to just see where it goes and live life because you’re young, yet you had this cloud of worry hanging over ahead because of Peter. Then Ned is telling you that you can’t just have Peter, Spider-Man has to be involved… what would Mj tell you to do?

Talk to Peter, that’s what she’d say.

But how can you possibly talk about something like this with Peter? You don’t even know what’s going on in your brain, why you’re feeling all of this and what’s going on.

“Sorry I’m late,” Ned’s bedroom door opens revealing the guy your mind is occupied with, he’s out breath and backpack is swung over one shoulder, “May flooded the bathroom- well, I did, but May didn’t exactly help the situation.”

Ned chuckled lightly at Peter’s little speech, you watch as Peter plonks down beside you. He begins to pull out his homework and textbooks, already talking about some other topic that you aren’t bothered about. You feel a little more relaxed knowing he wasn’t out being Spider-Man but was actually at home. Although, that means he’ll be patrolling tonight, swinging through Queens streets to stop crime and potentially get hurt.

Why are you so bothered about him being Spider-Man now? Sometimes you wished you never found out, that Peter was never planning on telling, to live in a little bubble of thinking Peter was a normal teenage guy. That’d be easier.

“Do you need some help?” Peter’s voice pulls you from your thoughts, he’s already grabbing your blank notebook and scooting himself closer to you, his knee pressed against yours and his shoulder bumping your own.

Peter does that a lot. He never leaves any space between you lately, even if there’s an inch, it makes you smile softly to yourself. When watching movies there’s never any space between you, sometimes he’ll hold your hand because being practically draped over you isn’t enough. You’ve never had that type of affection shown to you before, no one’s ever just held your hand or placed your arm around their shoulders.

“Are you listening to me?” You blink a few times and tilt your head at Peter, “you were lost in your own mind, are you okay?”

You open and close your mouth a few times, not sure how to answer that question. You begin to frown, your eyebrows knitting together and your mouth forms a hard line. You bite your bottom lip because you have so much to say, yet no way to know how to express the words. Plus you’re at Ned’s, it’d be awkward to just bring up how you feel in front of him.

“I’m not feeling too good, I’mma go,” you stand up and grab your stuff and shove it into your bag, Peter goes to stand up also, “No!” you almost yell, “stay here and study, I kinda want to be alone, sorry.”

Before Peter or Ned can say anything you’re out of the door and going home, leaving behind a very confused and upset Peter and a middle-man Ned.

**Peter’s P.O.V**

“What’s wrong with him?” Peter snapped his attention to his best friend, Ned averted his gaze from Peter to his laptop screen, “Ned, tell me.”

Ned lifted his eyes and sighed, “Listen, I don’t get involved. Y/N? He just needs time to himself, talk to him tomorrow?” 

Peter shakes his head, not happy with that as the answer. He knows something is off with you, you never just leave a study session and the fact you want to be alone? That’s unlike you, you like time alone but you’d prefer to be around Peter, Ned and Mj. Maybe you are just feeling unwell, but judging by Ned’s shift behaviour that’s not the case this time. 

“If you tell me then I’ll know now and be able to fix it,” Peter asserts and waits with crossed arms over his chest. “I won’t tell him that you told me.” 

Ned sighs, “I really don’t think this is a good idea,” muttering mostly to himself, “you should ask him yourself, you know?” Peter shrugs, “he’s unsure about… how he feels with you being Spider-Man, he’s worried about you and is wondering if dating is a good idea between you.” 

Peter’s heart sinks inside of his chest, he feels a deep ache in the pit of his stomach at the thought of you having doubts. If you’re concerned why haven’t you talked to him about it? Why are you so worried? Your dad is Iron Man, surely you’re used to this. 

“I think he just wants reassurance, Peter,” Ned mutters and Peter frowns, “His dad almost died, a few times, he just wants to know that you’ll always be safe. ” 

“I can’t promise him that,” Peter mumbles. 

Ned sighs, “Not all lies are bad.”


	15. Jealousy Isn't A Good Look

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reader is a little jealous

[Originally posted by visionsofnotetonote](https://tmblr.co/ZkPWxh2WSHqwB)

[Originally posted by sigh-everyday](https://tmblr.co/Zjq9Yb2WEEqlr)

_(Jason is a real character from Homecoming, played by Jorge, who played Nick in Love, Simon. So, he’s gonna be featured because I love his friendship with Simon in the movie, plus miffed that I don’t think he’s back for Far From Home)_

You could hear them from the living room, talking to one another. You wished you understood the science talk, but you didn’t and you never would, you don’t think anyway. They have been discussing new gadgets for Peter’s suit, nothing too flashy but very his brand. You almost wanted to roll your eyes at their little chuckles, probably, a science pun if anything.

“Alright, well, good work today Peter,” you glanced up from your phone to see your dad and Peter walk into the living room, big smiles on their faces. “Say hello to your aunt for me?” He called as Peter began to walk out of the living room.

You watched Peter, he gave you a small smile before leaving. Your dating is still a secret from your dad, neither of you thought it best to tell him just yet, not until you were both sure about this and each other. Also, you didn’t want him to make a big deal out of it, your dad has this uncanny ability to make things awkward, pretty quickly too.

You glance to Tony, who is already typing on his phone and turning to exit the living room, going back to his lab to work. It doesn’t surprise you, mostly hurts you a little bit. He’ll spend hours upon hours working, holding meetings or doing god knows what in the lab, never giving himself enough time to even eat or sleep. Yet, he’ll make time for Peter, a kid that isn’t his. You didn’t want to admit that Mj was right, but she was, you’re jealous of Peter but only his relationship with your dad because they have stuff in common like; being superheroes and geniuses, you and Tony are complete opposite when it comes to hobbies and interests.

A small part of you felt like you did this to yourself, you pushed Tony away from you all those years ago, and you’ve never made an effort to never be interested in science. Peter was around when you weren’t, he became the son Tony had  _always_  dreamed of and wanted. You shouldn’t be jealous and you didn’t want to care, yet you did. You cared because Tony is your dad and you didn’t want to share him or compete for  _his_ attention.

You also didn’t want this negative energy to affect your current relationship with Peter… only it already has. You started to spend less and less time with him, making up excuses about where you’re going and what you’re doing after school. In fact, you actually started to finish a lot of homework because of it, teachers are  _finally_  liking you at school now. You still made an effort to be around him, not to raise too much suspicion about your current thoughts and feelings, but the more you saw Peter be the perfect ideal son to your dad… the more you resented yourself.

“Sup,” you place your bag down beside Zander, instantly grabbing the attention of his table. 

You hadn’t really talked to Zander since the party, apart from in lessons and over text. He hung around different people to you, which is fine because he’s the friend that invites you to parties and doesn’t expect anything but you turning up.

“Hey, Y/N. Had a falling out with Peter or something?”

Shrugging casually. “Something like that,” Zander turns to you and looks concerned, “I don’t want to talk about it. Mind if I sit with you?”

Zander smiles, “sure, don’t see why not. That’s Flash, he’s my other friend and actually, dj’d at the party you attended ages ago. That’s Jason, you’ve seen him present the school news with Betty.”

You nodded at Flash, his collar sticking up and gelled black hair. He casually waved at you, you had heard about him from Peter and seen him around, pretty sure he created the name  _‘penis parker_ ’ and said it a few times when walking past Peter. Peter didn’t seem all that bothered, so you never reacted or did anything outrageous-  _like the time you punched a guy first week here_.

You sneakily glanced at your usual table, Mj didn’t seem that interested in where you sat and was currently reading a book with earphones in. However, the two boys of your table, well they were another story. Both were staring at you, frowning and muttering to one another, probably, about why you’re over here and not there with them. You watch as Peter pulls out his phone, typing away quickly and Ned glancing over his shoulder.

Both heads look in your direction and in that second you feel your phone vibrate; Peter has texted you. You decide to ignore it, instead choosing to listen to Flash’s story about how Spider-Man stole his car back during Homecoming, you raised your eyebrows and laugh, the thought of Peter actually driving around whilst dressed as Spider-Man made you want to cry with laughter (you held back not to embarrass yourself).

“We’ve heard this story a million times,” Zander groans and throws some fries at Flash, who huffs a little at his friend.

You shrug, “I haven’t. Seems Spider-Man always shows up in the most opportune moments.”

“Yeah, he was there in Washington, saved the Decathlon team from dying. It was all over the news.” Flash shrugged nonchalantly, “I didn’t panic but everyone else did.”

You could feel your phone vibrate with every new notification you got, you decided to ignore them and listen to Flash, Jason and Zander conversation. The main topic being music, after hearing about Flash’s dj-ing, you started to talk about your band and music and that turned into Zander joining in because he was once in a band, but his brother went to Uni abroad, so he no longer plays the guitar. Jason is apparently an expert at karaoke, something you’ve gotta see or so Flash says.

“Sounds like we’ve got the set-up for a techno band,” you joked with them as the bell sounds.

“If you attend Z’s party next week I’m down for a karaoke-off?” Jason offered, nudging Flash who shrugged and nodded, Zander sighed and agreed. “I’ll bring my machine, it has over two-thousand songs on it.”  

Flash made a ‘really’ face, “As long as you have some Drake on there, I’m in.”

That started your unofficial plan of avoiding Peter and your father. Unintentional, but it worked a damn treat. You started sitting with Jason during your AP classes, getting a lift home from Flash, and even attending after-school art club with Zander. Yet, a big part of you felt bad and guilty, it wasn’t Peter’s fault for having a better bond with Tony-  _nor was it Mj’s or Ned’s_.

You walked out of school on Thursday, a whole two weeks of only talking to Peter via text, same with Ned and Mj. You looked across the carpark, seeing Flash and Jason waiting for you in his dad’s new car. You give a little wave, but you’re yanked backwards by your backpack, spinning around you’re met with the rageful face of Mj.

“You’ve got some explaining to do,” she affirms.

Instead of answering her you look at Flash, gesturing with your head that he can leave. You look back down at Mj, biting your bottom lip and nodding, she turns on her heel and walks towards the local coffee house. It’s only a short journey, yet it felt long due to the silence. Mj gets the usual orders, still ignoring you, so you grab the table by the window and wait. 

She sits opposite you, placing her bag on the seat beside her and her eyes meet yours. The lack of emotion behind them and the narrowed look makes you cringe, it’s like your under an FBI spotlight, like she’s got you in for questioning for a murder you didn’t commit. 

“So,” you begin and she only raises her eyebrows at you, “you were right.”

She nods, “that tends to happen.” You huff out a laugh, “what about this time?” tilting her head to the right in confusion, a little thing she does when confused or inquisitive.

“Me being jealous of my dad and Peter,” she makes an  _‘Ohhh’_  sound and nods, “Whenever I see them together I get this… feeling Mj, I can’t explain it but it makes me sad. I’m upset and guilty ‘cause I don’t have that connection with him and I’ve always blamed my dad, never once thought it was me.” You sigh and lick your lips, leaning back against the chair and looking out of the window to the streets, “I just wanted some time away from feeling like that, I guess.”

Mj nods silently, eyebrows knitting together as she thinks for a few moments. “You should talk to Tony, this is about how you don’t have a bond with him or anything in common like Peter does. Maybe, talking will help find some common ground between you. If you’re finding it difficult then he is too.”

You nod, smiling when your Iced Mochas are brought over to the table. Taking equally silent sips, allowing the buzz of the coffee house takes over, you look at Mj who has already pulled out her sketch pad, sketching a few civilians around her.

“Also, can’t believe you’re friends with Flash,” she mutters but has a smile on her face. “You and Jason seem close, is he replacing Peter?” she doesn’t look up to study your face.

You allow yourself to scowl at Mj, confused by her question also. She knows your feelings for Peter, she knows you, and she knows you’d never jump from one person to another.

“Of course not,” you hiss, Mj looks up a little taken back, “He’s just my friend, plus he likes Abby and won’t stop talking about her. I think I might have to step in and get them together.”

She nods slightly, “Just don’t go radio silent on me again, okay?” You nod, “You can have other best  friends, I don’t care, it’s whatever.” You chuckle and nod, settling back to watching her sketch people and telling her all the drama Flash seems to cause at parties.

**

You walked down to the lab, where your father was busy looking at the screens situated around the lab. Talking to Friday as he went, you frowned and leaned on the wall watching as he paced around. The screens showing different maps of the world, a few glowing dots and Bruce Banner’s face on another screen.

“Still looking for the Green Giant?” You called and pushed yourself away from the wall to walk around the lab, sitting on a workbench.

Tony nodded with a small chuckle, “Yep. He’s my friend and I want to know he’s okay, so far nothing.” You nod slowly, “you just missed Peter, by the way.”

“Figured.” You sighed.

It goes back to being silent, on your end away. Listening to Tony make plans to talking to other world leaders and military leaders, all on the hunt for one guy, well, a few more it seems; Tony is only interested in finding Banner, whereas everyone else wants to know where Cap and his merry men are.

“You should go upstairs, I’m going to be here for some time,” Tony calls over his shoulder and you nod, head hanging low and shoving your hands in your pockets.

“Mmmhmm, okay,” you mutter and turn on your heel, yet something pulls you back. “Actually, no, I’m not going to go upstairs.” Tony looks over his shoulder with raised eyebrows at your outburst, “So, Peter gets to spend time with you and I have to go upstairs?” You ask, arms outstretched as if that proves your point somehow.

Tony is silent and looks caught off guard, “I just thought you’d find this boring, you’re welcome to stay down here.” 

You nod almost robotically, sitting down on the closest surface to you, which was a workbench he wasn’t using. You glance around the room and look anywhere but at Tony, trying your best to look interested and intrigued in what was happening. 

There’s a thick tension between you both, Tony glances at you every once and a while, before continuing to his work. Neither of you makes any comments and he was right, you do find this boring. He’s just looking at possible sightings of Hulk, stuff that has happened that could be the cause of Banner Hulking out, yet nothing really stands out.

“Are you jealous of Peter?” Tony asks suddenly, you look up and see Tony has pulled a wheelie stool and is sitting opposite you, a solemn expression on his face. “You’ve not been yourself these few weeks, Peter mentioned that you’ve been hanging out with other people and that you’re not really talking to him as much, he’s confused if he’s done something wrong.”

“Why are you so obsessed with him?” You ask without thinking, you instantly feel guilty for asking that because Peter needs a mentor like Tony, “I didn’t mean- just you spend so much time with him, have this great bond with him… why am I here? Why did you offer to take me in if you already have what you wanted with Peter?”

Tony sits up straight, a frown pulled his eyebrows together. “We have nothing in common. Yet, I hate seeing you have this great connection with Peter. He’s just like you, a genius and he gets those stupid science jokes you tell. He’s a superhero too, he’s everything you want in a son and I’m just here. Everyone already says I’m nothing like you, that I’ll never be, and Peter proves that.”

You look at your hands, not being able to look at Tony after your confession. He doesn’t say anything, not straight away, you feel him stand up and start pacing slightly. You glance up to see a pained expression on his face, one of disappointment, you can’t tell if it’s meant to be directed at you or himself.

“Y/N, you’ll never be me,” you frown, “And that’s something everyone will realise, it’s something you’ve got to realise too. We’re not alike, you’re your own person and you like different stuff to me, and to your mum. I don’t want you to be anything but yourself.” You nod slowly, Tony kneels in front of you and smiles, “Peter is a smart kid, not as smart as me, of course.” You both chuckle lightly, “the only family Peter has is his aunt, he’s a lost a lot of people, I guess, I can relate to that. He needed someone to steer Spider-Man in the right direction, plus Peter Parker too.

“You’re my son, you’re everything I hoped for. I don’t want some genius son or some superhero, I just want  _you_  and for you to be happy with your life and have all the opportunities you want.” Tony pauses, “Honestly, you remind me so much of my mother, I think, you’re more Carbonell than Stark.”

You raise an eyebrow, “How so?”

Tony chuckles and sits on the stool again, “Well, she’s Italian and they’re very passionate people, she has a big extended family,” Tony sighs, “I’ve always meant to go and see them, but I can’t bring myself to,” you nod a little with your eyebrows furrowed. “She loved music, always played the piano, she taught me actually. She loved art, couldn’t paint to save her life, but she admired a lot of art. I actually own a few of her favourites now, she was strong and endured a lot. Think Howard Stark’s curse skipped a generation a little of Carbonell came through in you.”

You spend the next three hours discussing Tony’s childhood and his mother, he leaves out times with Howard, you’ve already heard everything you needed to from Happy and Pepper over the years. You talk about movies, all of Tony’s being stuff you hadn’t seen, so he’s making it a priority to watch them with you. You even start to help him with Iron Man stuff, giving him ideas for suit updates.

“You know, I think, you pretend you aren’t a genius.” Tony remarks as you leave the lab, you laugh softly and shrug, “you’re in AP classes, Y/N, and you clearly know your way around engineering.”

“I like cars, more so, I like taking things apart and then putting them back together. Iron Man has components that similar to a car’s body,” Tony gives a little ‘huh’ as you walk.

Tony nudges you gently and grins, “We’re more alike than you think.”

**

You walk the streets of Queens, you know you should be at home, especially since it’s two in the morning but you had to see him before school. There was the chance he wouldn’t be home and wouldn’t be home for a long time either, but you could wait for him. You did text, but he never responded, as usual when he’s on patrol.

The street lights illuminated the way towards the Parker residents, your hands shoved in your denim jacket pockets. Probably, not the best night for ripped jeans because of the cold, but for aesthetic purposes, you looked good. Tony is right, you’re like him, Stark ego shining through.

“We could’ve talked at school, ya’know?” A voice calls and you look around before a whilst grabs your attention, you look up and see Spider-Man perched on a streetlight above you.

You roll your eyes at him, “You saying you don’t want to talk to me?” You can tell he’s rolling his eyes at you, he hops down and lands in front of you and crosses his arms, you pout. “Do not make me say it!”

He gestures for you to say it, looking at you through the mask still but you can tell he has a cocky, smug smile on his face and you’d love to  ~~kiss~~  punch off of him.

“I’m sorry, okay?” You huff and cross your arms, “there I said it. I was jealous of you and my dad having this weird bond, so I acted out and pushed everyone away because I like being the centre of everyone’s attention, especially my dad’s.”

It’s silent and you look at Peter, who has taken off the mask and has a confusion written across his face like he didn’t expect you to say all of that. Almost as if he didn’t know that’s why you had stopped hanging around him, his eyebrows knitted together and he looked as though he was trying to solve a murder in his mind.

“Wait…” he muttered, “I thought you were coming here to tell me you didn’t want to date me anymore,” he confessed and this time you looked confused. “You were jealous of my bond with Tony? That’s ridiculous, all he does is fix my suit when I can’t or make more web fluid when I have too much school work.”

You felt a tad stupid, maybe you shouldn’t have said all of that to him, but you were certain he had pieced it together. “Well… shut up! I didn’t know that you guys spend a lot of time together and you’re both smart, so shut up.” Peter chuckled lightly, “why did you think I didn’t want to date you anymore?”

“Well, Ned told me that you were doubting us that time you bailed on study night. Then you started to sit with Zander, Flash and Jason, I don’t know, you just didn’t seem to want to be around me anymore.”

Your heart clenched slightly at his words, an overwhelming feeling to just hug came over you and you took that feeling. You pulled him to you and hugged him tightly, he laughed loudly and hugged you back, you could he wasn’t using his full strength because he could, probably, crush you if he wanted- luckily he doesn’t want to.

Pulling back a little and shaking your head, “Peter, I want to date you and I always want to be around you.” That comment made Peter blush. 

You feel the urge to kiss Peter, the way he’s smiling up at you and the light pink dusting his cheeks: he’s adorable and hard to resist. Although, you hear that beeping again, the one that alerts Peter of a possible crime. You smile softly and lean down to kiss his cheek, you know Peter will be tomato red, and you’re right when you pull away. 

Letting out a little airy chuckle you pull away from him. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow,” you call as you back away. 

“Shouldn’t- Maybe- shouldn’t I take you home?” Peter asked pulling on the mask to hide his blushing face as you chuckled lightly over his stumbling of words.

You shrugged, “I’ll be fine. Heard there’s this hot superhero about, sure if I run into trouble he’ll help me out.” You wink before turning around.


	16. Seize The Moment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Annnnndddd it's finally happened

[Originally posted by bisexualindie](https://tmblr.co/Z8HLQp2ZJTcrv)

[Originally posted by ganseye](https://tmblr.co/Zv_RgxiiwU8H)

You slipped through the crowded Tea Room, eyes darting across the fancy and expensive place. The Tea Room is hosted on the top floor of a skylight building, the glass roof making the room light up with energy. The quiet chatter of people mixed with the stirring of spoons, the sips of tea and the smell of freshly baked cakes.

Your eyes finally land on her, the woman you hadn’t seen for a few months. The bubbling of excitement and happiness overtaking you, you bound over to the table with a grin. She had already ordered because an assortment of cakes was on a stand, along with a teapot neatly set in the middle of the table.

“Hey,” you surely breathed out as you stepped up to the table, she whips her blonde head up and smiles at you, standing up and walking around the table to pull you into a hug. “Hey, mum,” you mutter into her neck bending down slightly to make it easier to wrap her arms around your neck.

“I don’t remember you being this tall, what is Tony feeding you?” She chuckles and sits back down, you accompany her, still smiling as she pours you some tea. “So, tell me everything about your new school.”

You frown slightly, your heart falling into the pit of your stomach almost. You didn’t want it to be the main topic of discussion, but you wanted for her to at least acknowledge what happened to you. To maybe apologise for not calling (or picking up the phone), to just say something on the matter, even if she doesn’t agree with it… maybe, at least tell you that.

Your coming out was a hot topic over social media, you knew that she knows what happened. Tony even told her, yet she’s going to gloss over it. Admittedly you didn’t know how you’d react when you’d see her today, excited was definitely an emotion you’d feel, but also anger. Anger over the fact she hadn’t made effort to call or catch up before today.

Your mum sighs lightly, “I didn’t know if I should bring it up or…” she coughs slightly, “Just I felt like you hated me for sending you away, I felt like a failure as a mother for not being able to… parent  _you_ ,” she looks away for a pause but then back to you.

“Did you know?” You asked with a muffled voice, “that I’m gay?”

She shakes her head, “No. Well, I call it mother’s intuition or whatever because I know you better than I know myself,” she chuckled lightly, brushing her hair behind her ear. “I felt like you weren’t being… you, your true self. Especially around Oliver, almost like you were holding your breath around him. When he said something homophobic or anything LGBT related was brought up you’d tense up more.” You watch as she shakes her head, “I should’ve asked. I should’ve dropped Oliver months ago when I saw the signs, but I ignored them. I’m sorry.”

You smile despite the anger you felt, you shrugged it off. “It’s fine, I love you. I held my own,” a chuckle escaping from your lips.

“You’ve always been good at looking after yourself,” she notes with a sigh. “You didn’t have the best childhood, partly my fault.”

You shrug, “You’re doing the best you can, I know that. You’re here now, that’s what matters.” She nods once with a smile, “it’s okay. The school, I mean. A little… nerdy, everyone there are geniuses and way beyond their year,” your mum chuckles, “I made some friends, a girl called Mj, you’d like her. She takes no shit from anyone, it’s a little scary sometimes.”

“Sounds like someone that will always be honest with you,” you nodded, “you need that, honey. Someone that’s gonna look beyond the name, who will be open and honest about everything; keep her close.”

You almost wanted to laugh, of course, this would turn into life advice. She means well, you know that, but she had this way of turning everything into some kind of survival guide of life. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, type of stuff. Not that you don’t appreciate her advice, most of it is actually given when needed.

“How have you been?” You ask, trying to steer the conversation off of yourself for the moment.

Your mother chuckles bitterly, “well, you know, running a business isn’t exactly easy. Hopefully, the deal with Europe will go smoothly, but when has my life ever run smoothly?” You laugh along with her, nodding in agreement. “Y/N, I need to be honest with you,” your mother exhales gently and places her cup down, “I know you’re, probably, wondering when you can home…  but it’s not going to be for a… while. I know I sent you to Tony to get away from the bad influences, it was mostly to get away from Oliver too.”

You frowned slightly, you hadn’t really given thought about going home. It was the last place you wanted to be, you had made friends and started a new life at Midtown High, you have something that’s going well with Peter. You couldn’t just pack up and leave everyone.

Yet, you did miss home. You missed your brothers, your old school and band practice. You missed your mother frantically running around the apartment trying to find her shoes, you missed walking your little brother to school every morning. Despite your mum’s fame, it came with no pressure, it came with no one looking down on you and wondering when your empire will be built.

“Oliver is giving me shit, I don’t want you around him. I’ve got to get lawyers involved, Tony has accepted to keep you on longer, that’s if you wanted?” She asked, “unless you want to come home. I’m making arrangements for a penthouse suite in that new hotel, looks lovely and grand.”

You smiled at your mum for a moment, “I want to stay with dad.” She raises her eyebrows slightly, “I don’t know, I think, me and him are… connecting, better than we ever have. Plus Mj and Ned, Peter wouldn’t me to leave. I want to be with dad right now. He’s surprisingly a good influence.”

“That is great news,” your mother grins, “I was so worried that you’d act out being there.” You chuckled, commenting on the fact you did in the beginning, “Who’s Peter?” She smiled knowingly once you started to become embarrassed, averting your eyes as you nervously chuckled. “Oh, my god. Do you have a boyfriend?”

You shake your head, rolling your E/C eyes at her. “No!” You defiantly pout, “Not, yet, at least.” You mutter and she heard, grinning from ear-to-ear, “Can we talk about something else? This is embarrassing.”

“No way!” She laughs, “you’re my eldest boy, I want to know who this guy is and what his intentions with you are. You should’ve bought him along, is he cute?”

You shake your head in disbelief at her antics, “He’s a massive nerd. Loves Star Wars, Lord of The Rings and all that nerd stuff. Super smart, he’s actually got an internship at Stark Industries,” she nodded and looked at you expectedly, “and he’s cute.” You mumble with an eye roll. “We’re dating, have been for a few weeks, nothing to intense. We haven’t even kissed, yet,” you inform her.

“Haven’t kissed? What are you waiting for?” You shrugged with one shoulder, “If you’re waiting for the perfect time, there isn’t one. You make it the perfect moment when you feel that gravitational pull to one another, that’s the moment. The moment when you’re caught off guard, but in the best way possible. That makes the first kiss,” you raised your eyebrows but nodded. “I’m sure he wants to kiss you, Y/N, don’t let the past ruin what’s happening for you right now. Okay?”

You bite your bottom lip and smile, nodding a little, “I won’t. I promise,” she nods with a small smile.

Both of you end up chatting for hours, mostly about your little brother and her business. Your mother no longer works for the FBI, given that line of work up long ago. Her new line of work is teaching women, of all ages, self-defence classes and how to protect themselves out on the streets. She’s made a few books, even created a DVD of her top-tips, now she’s got Netflix Original Series about her life.

To say you come from successful and ambitious parents is an understatement, your parents’ shadow, both of theirs, cast an Eclipse in your life. Not that you minded, you loved their success and it opened a lot of doors for you, but it also created a lot of setbacks too.

“Wait,” your mother started, an underline of horror in her voice, “did you drive yourself here?” She asked, her thick Memphis accent always coming out bolder when she’s scolding you. “Y/N, you’re fifteen, have you even got a driver’s license?”

You rolled your eyes, opening the door for her anyway, “I’m getting one next week, calm down.” She shakes her head, walking round to the driver’s side, “I’m having words with your father about this. Does he know that you took a car?” You shrugged and got into the passenger seat, “also what’s this I hear about you getting held hostage?”

You groaned loudly as she started the car, already driving towards the Avengers base. Explaining the whole ordeal, even adding in the parts where you had an argument with Peter but being careful not to out him being Spider-Man; the last thing you need is your mother knowing you’re dating a superhero.

“How can you forget everything I taught you?” She asked in disbelief, “I extensively told you ways to get out of situations to do with cars, the ole’ tuck and roll, honey.”

You rolled your eyes, “They had guns. Multiple of them, they tied me to a chair. I was lucky that Spider-Man even showed up when he did.” A part of you hated to admit that to her, you wanted to be brave and strong just like her, admitting that you couldn’t even get yourself out of that situation… sucked. “It’s not like I didn’t try,” you mutter.

You feel a hand reach out and grab yours, pulling it to the dash where she rubbed her thumb on the back of your hand. “I know, I- I just worry, that’s all. You- we can’t rely on superheroes to always save us, sometimes we got to do the saving and save ourselves.”

The drive was sat mostly in silence, you still holding your mother’s hand as she drove the car. You both pulled up outside to see Happy waiting at the entrance, your mother instantly gets out and Happy smiles, almost forgetting that you had taken a car to see her yourself.

“I told him to wait for me,” Happy affirms to your mother, letting her know that he had no part. “It’s good to see you Grace,” he hugs her tightly, you smile as you shut the car door. “Would you like me to drive you back home?”

Your mother shakes her head, “Not yet.” You frown and see her sly smile, “I need to run over S.I.N.G with my boy, seems he’s forgotten basic self-defence.” She links arms with you and follows Happy inside, who claims he has to see this.

***Peter’s P.O.V***

“May,” Peter nervously walked into the kitchen, his Aunt looked at him through her vanity mirror, “can I ask you a question?” May raised an eyebrow at her nephew and nodded, “How do small people and tall people kiss?” He asked in a rush and she blinked at him a few times.

She let out an inward laugh, “Well, they just…kiss one another.” Peter’s shoulders slumped because that didn’t exactly help, “The taller person would lean down, sometimes the smaller person might go on their tippy toes… why?”

Peter shrugged and crossed his arms, “No reason. Just curious, that’s all.”

“Peter, I know you. What’s up? You can tell me anything, you know that by now.” She turns on her stool and looks at him, he sighs gently and sits on the end of her bed. “Has this got anything to do with a certain Stark boy or am I reading you wrong?”

Peter stared at May for a few seconds, completely gobsmacked at her accuracy. Maybe she can read minds? Or she got hold of his phone and found his text thread with Y/N. That’d explain it, there’s no way he’s that obvious with his crush on you… is he? Oh, god, do people at school know too?

May chuckled, taking the silence as an answer. “Take that as a yes.”

“How’d you know?”

“He’s not exactly coy with his crush on you,” May shrugged and Peter frowned. “He punched someone for you and got beat up for you. He is willing to sit through hours and hours of Star Wars with your best friend Ned, he laughs at your science pun jumpers and smiles at you as if you’re the sun shining through on a rainy day.”

Peter raised his eyebrows slightly, damn, he really is oblivious. If he knew all of that weeks ago, well then you would have been together a lot sooner.

“Don’t worry,” May patted his shoulder, “All Parker men are oblivious, it’s in your DNA.”

***Normal P.O.V***

After two whole hours of self-defence you felt tired and deflated, only your mother wanted to continue, whilst Happy helped. Each offering tips and advice, different scenarios that could happen and how to get out of them. You retained most of the information thrown at you, only it would leave when you had to perform a physical take-down of either Happy or your mother. Both of whom are well, and truly, experienced in this area; They both kicked your ass, to say the least.

Although grateful for the little tutorial and lesson, you kinda just wanted to stop and watch a movie, anything that didn’t involve moving. You knew this information would help in the long run, but it was tiresome. So far all you had learnt was your mother is stronger than you’ll ever be and Happy? Well, for an ageing older man he still had some tricks up his sleeve.

“Come on,” Your mum helped you up and off the mat, “there are no breathing breaks when someone is trying to mug you of your Gucci sweater.”

You let out a breathy laugh, stumbling and slightly sweaty from today’s activities. You watch as they start to prepare another scenario, turning your head you see the familiar mop of brown messy hair. “PETER!” You cry happily, he jumps and looks up, frowning at your current state. “Oh, my god. It’s Peter, I totally forgot we have a thing… to do, right now. Right?” You look down at the smaller boy with pleading eyes.

[Originally posted by asciuto](https://tmblr.co/ZceoRb2fYV48I)

He looks at Happy and your mum and nods, “Yeah. A thing, totally a thing. It’s a school thing, mostly a project and it has to be done right now-” you nudge him to shut up and he does.

Your mother raises an eyebrow but smiles, “That’s fine. Hi, we met briefly,” Peter nodded and you raised your eyebrows, “In Tony’s office the other day, we had a meeting discussing your living situation. I didn’t know you meant this Peter.” You shoot her a glare, one telling her to shut up, “he’s cute, you’re right.”

“Okay, we’re leaving. Right now, bye.” You push Peter away, he waves over his shoulder with a smug smile whilst you roll your eyes, leaving behind a laughing Grace and Happy.

You sighed with relief once away from the gym, and your mother. Although your muscles started to ache from the extensive work-out, well self-defence you had done.

“What was that about?” Peter asked with a hint of amusement lacing his voice.

“Self defence,” you clarify, “my mum does classes on it, it’s her brand.”

Peter nodded quickly, “Yeah. Aunt May loves her DVD, she made me watch it years ago.” You chuckled, the thought of a smaller Peter watching your mum teach self-defence is kind of amusing. “What did she mean by talking about your living situation?” He asked as he followed you into the kitchen.

You opened the fridge and grabbed bottled water, unclasping it and sipping before even answering his question. “Well, I was sent here originally to get away from the bad influences in my life. I’m now focusing on school, I’m not fighting or being aggressive anymore. It’s mostly about where if I should be with my mum, like before or with Tony.” Peter nods slowly, eyebrows knitting together as he crosses his arms over his chest, clearly still confused. “It’s my choice, by the way. I get to decide whether I stay here or go back home,” you close the bottle of water and place it on the side, leaning against the counter and watching Peter’s reaction.

He nods quickly, “Have you decided?” You nod once, pursing your lips slightly with amusement, “…well?” He asked, clearly annoyed with your coyness to the situation.

You wait a moment, “I’m going back home.” You tell him and watch as his face drops, “Yeah, I’m taking Mj and Ned with me too, it’s part of terms I gave them. They’re currently packing their bags as we speak,” Peter does a sarcastic laugh and lightly shoves you, “this abuse is why I’m leaving you behind.”

“So, you’re staying?”

You rolled your eyes, “Yes, I’m staying nerd.” You chuckled, “I’m actually starting to have a connection with Tony again, be a bit redundant if I just left whilst things were getting better.” Peter nods and pouts, clearly hoping he was a reason for your staying too, “and there’s this guy, you know, we’ve started talking and I’d hate to leave that loser behind.”

Peter narrows his eyes at you, “My friendship with Flash is important, I can’t leave him behind now,” You laugh when Peter huffs, finally fed-up of your antics, turning around and leaving. You quickly grab his arm, “I’m kidding, I swear. Wow. Who knew you’d be so jealous,” you chuckled letting go of his jacket, smiling sweetly at him. “Wanna watch a movie with me? Or are you busy?”

He nods, following you out of the kitchen. “And I’m not jealous,” he clarifies, you nod with a smirk. “I’m being serious, I’m not jealous. I knew it was a joke,” you nodded with a sarcastic smile being thrown over your shoulder at him.

You walk into the movie room, immediately sitting down on one of the sofa with a sigh. Your limbs ache from the self-defence training only a mere few minutes ago, Peter lightly chuckles as you slouch and try to grab the fluffy blanket from the floor using your legs and feet. He, finally, decides to help you by picking it up and draping it over you.

“What do you wanna watch?” Peter already loading Netflix, you shrug lazily.

“You pick, whatever you want but it’s gotta be funny.”

Your eyes glance over to Peter, who is sat on the edge of the sofa and scrolling through Netflix options, elbows resting on his knees as he looks deep in thought. You watch as he mutters the summaries to some movies and tv shows, a little quirk of Peter’s that you adore, it’s almost impossible for him to read anything without mouthing the words or muttering them under his breath.

He smiles victoriously when he finds something he loves, placing the remote down and pulling his grey hoodie off. Revealing that he’s wearing a plain black tee, something different to the usual graphic ones he wears. He grabs some of the blankets and pulls it over his jean-clad legs, a small gleeful smile upon his face. You note how there’s hardly any space between you; despite the overly large sofa, Peter had taken up residence right beside you- leaving hardly an inch between both your arm and his.

The intro to the series begins, you allow your eyes to drift away from Peter’s to the screen. You hadn’t seen this show before, although you had seen the Gif sets of it over Tumblr and always meant to watch it you just never got around to it.

You feel Peter before he speaks, the way he moved a few inches just to speak clearly into your ear, “Have you seen this before?” his voice barely above a whisper, his shoulder nudging into yours.

He smells of some manly cologne, one you can’t really make out because there’s also a hint of… Peter mixed in. He has a distinct smell, it’s earthy but sweet, not overpowering either. He also has a minty smell, chewing mints to be exact and a faint smell of whatever perfume his aunt May sprays too. You’d think the combination would be off-putting but on Peter it’s intoxicating.

You quickly shake your head no, not trusting your voice to sound even and calm. “You’re going to love this. Mj kept recommending it to me, it’s hilarious.”

Despite your eyes fixated on the screen you weren’t actually watching it, your mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts and feelings. It made it difficult to concentrate, you’d chuckle when Peter laughed just so it seemed you were paying attention to the show about Brooklyn Detectives. Yet, all you could think about was what your mother told you earlier, her advice and opinion on first kisses.

How you should let the gravitational pull bring you both together but what if you don’t feel that? What if you never have that feeling with Peter? You’re, probably, over thinking things because it’s Peter. The nerdy, oblivious genius that makes your heart beat twice as fast. You decide to not dwell on it, as your mother said to not let the past ruin what’s happening now.

You actually start to pay attention to the show, Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Your laughter would bubble up every few minutes, the silly puns and one-liner. Out everyone you loved Gina, she’s your spirit animal. You wished to be like Rosa, completely badass and mysterious, but you’re a Gina Linetti.

You were so deeply watching the show that you didn’t notice how Peter would watch you instead. Waiting for your reaction to some plot or joke, laughing when you chuckled and smiling when you repeated the joke to yourself in a hushed breath- something you didn’t know you did, but Peter had found endearing. Peter didn’t catch the joke, but you started to loudly laugh. Holding your stomach as you laughed, head was thrown back and tears welling in the corners of your eyes.

Peter just smiles as you still laugh, wiping your eyes as you chuckle to yourself and mumble the line to yourself; only for you to erupt into laughter again. Having noticed the lack of laughter on Peter’s part you look over to him, chuckling to yourself and about to explain the whole moment to him. Only you find Peter staring at you, not with a confused look or a weirded out look. A look you can’t quite place because you hadn’t seen it directed at you before.

Your laughter starts to bubble away until it was just small giggles erupting from you and then you become silent, you start looking back at Peter. It’s not weird or uncomfortable… it feels right. You watch as Peter’s dark eyes drift down to your lips and you feel your heart start to race, hands begin to shake from just the tension alone. His eyes slowly look back up to your own, almost like he’s asking permission to go through with whatever he’s about to do.

Before you can even give an answer or subtle nod, he’s leaning forwards.

You subconsciously lean towards him, your mind is blank and everything feels numb. You feel his breath fan over your face, there’s a slight shake to it and it makes you feel better to know he’s nervous too. Then you feel his lips on yours, your eyes flutter shut and you feel a hand cup your jaw, his thumb caressing your cheek. His lips mould against yours softly, almost delicately and tentatively. Testing the waters almost. Your heart is hammering inside of your chest, you’re certain Peter can hear it because you feel his lips pull up into a smile as he continues to kiss you.

His lips feel soft, despite the fact you know he bites them a lot when stressed. He leads the kiss, which is surprising again because when picturing this moment you’re the one initiating the kiss. Yet, Peter is gently leading the way for you.

He breaks away for a moment, hand still holding you softly and you know, for a fact, you must look a little stunned. You feel warmth spread throughout your body, raising the hairs on the back of your neck and you feel a tad… shy. Peter’s smile grows and leans back in, kissing your lips again with a lot more confidence this time. This one lasts twice as long and instead of keeping your hands awkwardly in your lap, you place one on his shoulder, holding him a little tight but you know he doesn’t care.

You let yourself get lost in the feeling of Peter. All worries and anxiety fading away, you’re left with this fuzzy feeling. A feeling you had never felt before. The best way to describe it is also the most cliche and heterosexual way like fireworks were setting off inside of your body. Instead of the butterflies, they’re replaced with this overwhelming feeling of elation.

You both pull away this time and silence envelopes you both, you know for a fact you’re blushing and you can’t really meet Peter’s eyes because he’s smirking. You smile timidly and turn to face the tv again, sitting a lot closer to Peter than before. You feel a strong arm wrap around your shoulders, pulling you toward him and resting your head on his shoulder. You feel him rest his head on top of yours, his other hand grabbing one of yours and holding it securely.

This is different. A good kind of different. Normally you’re the one to hold Peter, to cuddle and secure him in your arms. This feels… better. A word you’ve never used to describe someone before, yet this is what Peter feels like… safe. You feel safe and it’s odd, yet the good kind. The kind that makes you wish it would never leave and never change.

**Author's Note:**

> You have no idea how much I’ve been craving to write a Male x Peter thing, so I have. I know I shouldn’t make a new series but I’m inspired again. This is technically an unnamed OC- would’ve been called Simon - but I wanted it to be reader insert. Let me know if you’re excited for this and want to be tagged! - Rosalie


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